A Broken Heart Mended
by XantheXV
Summary: Evangeline, a mental patient at the Bethlehem Asylum in London, escapes her prison and stows away on a ship headed for the Caribbean. Little does she know that the ship is headed for the pirate port Tortuga, where she meets the infamous pirate Captain Jack Sparrow. Starts during Curse of the Black Pearl. Jack/OC. Genre may change. Rated T for blood/suggestive themes: may change!
1. Bethlehem Asylum

Author's Note: I had the idea for this story swimming in my head for a while, like when you get earworms from listening to music O.O So I decided to go ahead and write it, and post it. I've even got half of chapter two written already.

Those who are following me, I promise I will finish my other POTC story that's on the works right now. I'm kinda having trouble writing the next chapter. So, I'm hoping that writing a couple of chapters for this story will help :D And those of you who are reading _Re: Kingdom Hearts_, I super-duper-extra promise that I will update the next chapter soon. And sorry that I didn't get it up in time to celebrate KH3D :( But it's gonna be a long one.

Anyway, enough rambling! Sorry, I'm a bit of a rambler. Enjoy the chapter guys, and please read & review. NO FLAMES! I laugh at them anyway. I'll post the next chapter if I get enough reviews. That way I'll at least know you're interested. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean. If I did, I would be hanging out with Keith Richards and Johnny Depp, hopefully learning how to play the guitar. I only have ownership of the OC Evangeline.

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**Chapter One: Bethlehem Asylum**

Very little light shone through the bars into the dreary padded cell. She couldn't move her arms so she struggled to stand up so she could attempt to see the outside world. She could, however, barely see anything through her dirty, matted black locks. He deep, blue eyes looked through the bars as best as she could anyway. She could smell the salty sea air coming from the docks. How she longed for freedom! But, like a bird in a cage, she was trapped there by the abundance of orderlies scattered throughout the establishment.

She could hear a scream come from the cell next to hers. _Poor Chelsea_, she thought. _What are they going to do to her?_

She felt horrible for the unfortunate souls trapped here, against their will. Chelsea, who was most likely being carried away by orderlies, was on her childhood friends. She had gone missing some months ago, and it wasn't until she had been admitted here that she had found where Chelsea had gone. She had caught sight of her in the hall on her way to first "treatment" session.

Neither of them belonged here.

After being here for two months, the girl noticed a change in her friend. She became violent, clawing and biting the orderlies, and was officially deemed mad. And it was all their fault.

Seeing what they had done to Chelsea, the girl ultimately decided that she wasn't going to end up like that. She was going to escape with Chelsea, and they would take the next ship out of London, out to open sea, and out of this hell hole.

Just as she was going over the escape plan in her head, she heard the creaking of her cell door, signaling that it was opening. The girl slowly turned around, her eyes wide with fear. Two orderlies started to walk towards her, slowly and menacingly.

At the door stood the asylum's dreaded head doctor, an older man with greying red hair known as Dr. Victor Helmsworth.

"Oh, good morning, Miss Evangeline," he said coolly. He said nothing more, obviously awaiting her response.

Evangeline said nothing. How could she reciprocate his greeting, him being the most hated of all the doctors in the facility? After the things he has done to her and Chelsea? Especially since it was not a good morning at all.

He apparently didn't like her lack of response. "Mrs. Flavisham," he said, sounding hurt. But she wasn't fooled. "It's rude to not reply to a morning greeting. You're supposed to say, 'Good morning, Doctor.'"

Evangeline still said nothing.

Helmsworth sighed. "I suppose I'll just have to teach you a lesson in manners as well." Gesturing to the orderlies, he added "Bring her."

Rough hands grabbed a hold of her slender frame, whittled away little by little due to the lack food in the asylum. Evangeline screamed, trying to escape their grasp. She kicked as hard as she could, screaming even more. She struggled even more as they got closer to a room she hoped to never see or set foot again: the Blood Letting Room.

"NO!" Evangeline screamed.

_Wait,_ she thought. _They'll have to take this infernal straight jacket off. I can make a break for it._

She continued to struggle, trying to keep up the act long enough to get the results that she wanted.

The doctor closed the door as the orderlies set Evangeline down and slowly started to take off the jacket. As soon as it was off, and the doctor was closer, she grabbed a hold of a knife that was on a surgical tray set up next to the chair she was supposed to be sitting in when she was being given her "treatment". She pointed the knife at Helmsworth.

"Now, Mrs. Flavisham." Helmsworth was nervous at this point. "You don't want to be messing with that."

"Stop calling me that!" Evangeline shouted. "I don't want to be called that ever again." She was fighting back the tears forming at the thought of her late husband.

One of the orderlies made to grab her, Evangeline quickly spun around and stabbed him in the chest, where his heart should be. The other orderly made the same mistake, and met the same end. As she swung the knife, blood spattered onto the white dress she was wearing.

At the shock of what she had just done, she lowered the knife. Long enough for Dr. Helmsworth to make his move. He grabbed a hold of a scarificator, a small octagonal shaped box with a series of blades placed inside, and grabbed a hold of the girl from behind.

"Nowhere for you to go now," he whispered in her ear. He then took the liberty of running his free hand down her side toward her thigh, sending unpleasant chills down her spine. "It's a shame that you're here really. So…beautiful."

He spun poor Evangeline around and pushed her against the wall, scarificator still at her neck. He only lowered it when he put his dry lips to her neck and allowed his free hand to travel down her thigh.

Evangeline was seething with rage and disgust. She had let her guard down…again. Realizing she had an opening, she raised her knife and stabbed the man in the back. Caught by surprised, Helmsworth let her go, and she pushed him away, stabbing him in the chest. The doctor fell to the floor.

Evangeline, making sure he was dead first, rummaged through the late doctor's pockets, grabbing any money he had and the keys to the doors. Satisfied with what she found, she ran out of the room and back to her cell.

What she found, though, was not pleasant.

She looked through the bars of Chelsea's cell, planning on bringing her along, only to find her friend lying there, motionless in a puddle of blood.

"No!" she shouted, trying hard to fight back tears, but was failing.

Realizing any of the other orderlies could have heard her, she quickly ran down the hall. As she progressed through, she unlocked the doors and avoiding any areas the orderlies where most likely to be. She somehow found her way to the back of the building, and onto the London streets. She looked to her right and saw that she had a clear shot to the harbor. She dropped the keys and ran for the harbor.

Running and starvation where taking its toll on Evangeline. She was thankful that no one had noticed her, which was strange considering how crowded London was. She saw that a merchant ship was loading up, preparing to set sail. With what energy she had left, she jogged over to a cask carrying rum and took the opportunity to hide. Thankfully, the cask was being covered by a canvas, so she lifted it and climbed in. the cask would most likely put stored in the cargo hold, the perfect place for Evangeline to hide.

She felt the cart being lifted, causing her hold on the edge of the cask as much as she could so that she wasn't revealing where she was, or that she was even there. After about five minutes, the cask was set down, the light coming through the canvas growing darker until there was absolutely no light shining through. The grates on the main deck were being closed.

Evangeline dared to poke her head out of the cart, and peered around to make sure that no one else was around. When she was certain she was alone, she climbed out of the rum cask, landing onto the wooded floor with a small thud. She walked over to a porthole and looked out to notice that the ship was beginning to move away from the harbor, away from London. She had done it.

Evangeline was finally free.

For the first time in two months, a tired, grief-stricken, and abused Evangeline fell to the floor, and cried.

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A/N: So, I hope you guys enjoyed it. Like I said earlier, if I get enough reviews or at least enough people interested, I will post the next chapter. Don't forget to review. I love reading what you guys have to say, and seeing those reviews in my email brighten up my day. They make me very happy, and motivate me to write more. ^-^ ~Xanthe


	2. A Ray of Hope

Author's Note: Here is chapter two. Thank you to my three reviewers for letting me know what you guys think. You guys have motivated me enough to finish writing this chapter and posting it. I tried to take my time a little so that it would still draw you guys in, so that's why I am posting it at…oh…2:40 in the morning! So thank you so much! Kudos to:

**Tiff fromschool**

**Guest**

**dionne dance:** _I'm glad I pulled you in. I was going for something or some element no one has tried. Or at least I hope that they haven't tried :D But I will be putting in some info about Evangeline's husband hopefully in the next chapter, but I will tie it in somehow. Who knows, it might be later than that!_

Thanks also goes out to those of you who favorite/subscribed/alerted. You guys rock.

Well, I hope you guys enjoy! Happy reading, and don't forget to leave me some feedback. Constructive criticism only, and NO FLAMES!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean. I would be chilling out on the _Black Pearl_ if I did, and Gibbs, Jack, and I would be drinking rum.

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**Chapter Two: A Ray of Hope**

It was not the soft sway of the ship that awoke Evangeline on that fifth day. It wasn't even the nightmares. As she opened her eyes to see what had startled her, she saw two dingy and rough looking sailors staring down at her, with expressions of confusion and wonder.

"Looks like we's got ourselves a stowaway," the older of the two stated. He was a burly chap of about 5'4" with greying brown hair and soft brown eyes.

Evangeline's eyes widened. She quickly scooted away from them, her back against the wall with her knees to her chest.

"Whoa, missy!" the younger sailor exclaimed. "We ain't gonna 'urt ye."

"H-how do I know you're not lying?" she asked skeptically. She didn't enjoy the fact that she had let her guard down and been found out. "You're pirates!"

The older pirate sighed. He did seem genuinely hurt by her question. "Aye, tha' we are, miss."

"We swears we ain't lying," the younger pirate said. He looked to be about Evangeline's age, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy standing at 5'9".

Evangeline said nothing. She sat there, body trembling and eyes wide with fear. _They really mean it, don't they?_ she wondered. _But I can't be too careful. Not after…_ She stopped herself before she could even _think_ about _him_ again.

The two pirates looked at the poor girl with much concern. Her black, curly hair was messy and matted with what looked like dried blood. Her once white dress was covered in dirt and blood stains, matching the bandages wrapped around her forearms. Both felt very sorry for her.

"What's yer name?" the older pirate asked. He sincerely hoped that she would answer him.

Evangeline looked up at the man, eyes scanning him up and down, left to right. She looked him right in the eyes, and in the eyes of the younger pirate. Both pairs of orbs were very soft. _They say the eyes are windows into the soul_, she thought. _They seem like they really mean not to harm me. Maybe I can trust them. Only time will tell._

"Evangeline," she finally said. "Evangeline…Turner." She refused to use her married name. Ever.

The old pirate smiled, thankful to have gotten her to at least trust them with at least her name. "Name's Porthos, Miss Evangeline. Parents named me after some French man or others."

Evangeline smiled a little. She remembered the stories about the Musketeers her mother would always tell her. She loved them as a child.

"I'm James Rhodes, ma'am," the younger pirate said. "Most everyone aboard calls me Rhodes, though."

Evangeline relaxed a little. "N-nice to meet the both of you," she said. Her voice was still a little shaky.

"So, why's you aboard the _Percephany_?"

Evangeline hesitated in answering this question. "I-I don't really want to talk about it."

Porthos waited for her to say more. When she didn't, he sighed. "Alright, let's go. Come on, miss."

Evangeline looked puzzled.

Rhodes turned to his fellow pirate, a worried look gracing his features. "Do we 'ave to?"

"Aye, boy. You know the laws as well as I. We 'ave to take 'er to the cap'n."

The girl went rigid. That was the last thing she wanted to do. _What if he sends me back to London?_ she wondered. She then remembered the money she had looted off of Dr. Helmsworth's body, and that pirates love to haggle. _Maybe I can bargain with the captain. Maybe this will convince him to let me stay on the ship._

Silently, she followed Porthos and Rhodes out of the darkness of the hold, and into the light of the outside world.

xxx

Captain Hamish Starky was standing at the helm, barking orders at his crew and gazing out of the open waters of the Atlantic. Just four days ago they had taken down the British flag and hoisted their true colors: a Jolly Roger—a skull and crossbones sat in the center with a red hourglass behind the skull on a black backdrop.

It was a beautiful day. The sun was out. There was a favorable wind, and not a Royal Navy ship in sight.

But Captain Starky groaned as he saw the two figures of Porthos and Rhodes, who were supposed to finding their crewmember, Reggie, who had disappeared into the hold at least an hour ago. He could be drinking all of the rum they had just acquired in London.

"Can I help ye, gentlemen?" he asked in a thick Scotish accent.

Both men were hesitant on answering the captain. And Starky didn't like it. _They're hiding something_, he thought.

Porthos was the first to eventually speak up. "Well, Cap'n, it seems we 'ave a stowaway."

Starky's eyes narrowed. "A stowaway? On my vessel?"

"Aye, Cap'n," Rhodes replied. "But—"

The captain of the _Percephany_ interrupted him. "Who be the sea rat what stole aboard me ship?"

Porthos and Rhodes parted to reveal Evangeline, who wasn't too keen on being introduced to the captain.

Starky was stumped. He hadn't expected a woman to have stowed away. He quickly took in her appearance, from her messy black hair to her bandaged arms and shoeless feet.

Evangeline didn't like the captain looking at her the way he did. But she decided to take this time to analyze the man in front of her. He had curly red hair that was kept down by a dark emerald bandana and tri-corn hat. He wore a long, garnet-colored coat with a black vest and brown trousers, along with a pair of black boots. She looked at a pair of emerald orbs last.

She immediately took a dislike toward the pirate captain. Something about him seemed…off, and his eyes seemed cold.

Starky interrupted her thoughts. "What's yer name, lass?"

"Evangeline Turner, Captain."

_Well_, he thought. _At least she has manners._ He then realized something. _Wait, did she say 'Turner'?_

He grinned. "And why, may I ask, Miss Turner, have ye stowed away on me ship?"

She decided to at least be truthful to the captain, keeping it at a need-to-know basis. _Who knows?_ she wondered. _Maybe that will give him incentive to let me stay on the ship._ "I'm running from some bad people who wish to do me harm."

The captain knew he had seen the girl before. Then it occurred to him. He had seen her running in the streets in London. He sighed. "So ye be the loon what escaped the asylum?"

Evangeline's eyes widened, as well as Porthos' and Rhodes'. _How did he know?_ she wondered.

As if reading her mind, Starky added "I was in town, on me way back to the ship when one o' them orderlies runs out and causes a panic because a loon was on the loose."

"That explains the—" Porthos began.

"Please, Captain!" Evangeline begged, her voice dripping with fear. "Please don't send me back to London. Please don't send me back to the asylum! I'll do anything! Here." She pulled out the money she had acquired thrust it towards him. "I can pay for the voyage so far and…and you can make me work on the ship to help cover the rest. Please, just please don't send me back to that bloody hell-hole."

The captain looked thoughtful. After a moment, he put a hand on hers and thrust the money back to her. "Keep it, Miss Turner. I've no intention of takin' ye back ta London nor yer money."

Evangeline looked absolutely flabbergasted, her expression matching those of the two pirates next to her. "Captain?"

"Ye may stay aboard the _Percephany_," he said. Turning to Porthos and Rhodes, he added, "Get the cabin off o' the main deck ready and scrounge up a change o' clothes fer Miss Turner."

"Aye, Cap'n!" both men shouted excitedly, and then ran off.

Evangeline beamed up at Starky. "Thank you, captain."

"Yer welcome, Miss Turner. Ye hungry?"

"Famished." At the thought of food, the poor girl's stomach growled.

"Follow me an' we'll get ye somethin' while ye wait." Starky gestured for the girl to follow him, but noticed her hesitation.

"Why are you helping me?" she asked, not believing that it was actually happening. "Why?"

"Because," the captain began sorrowfully. "Me mum was committed to Bethlehem."

xxx

Evangeline had scarfed down the bread, cheese, and pork meat that the captain had given her and drank half a canteen of water when Porthos and Rhodes came knocking on the cabin door.

"Enter," Starky called.

Rhodes poked his head in. "Cabin and clothes are ready for Miss Evangeline."

"Ah, thank ye, Rhodes. As soon as Miss Turner is finished, you may lead 'er ta 'er cabin."

At that thought, Evangeline quickly finished off the bread and drank the rest of the water, and then followed Rhodes and Porthos. She was glad to get away from the captain. She didn't mind his company, but he was boring her with one of his stories. Even the one about how his mother was sent to the asylum nearly bored her to tears. The fact that he would just stare at her the way he did added to the discomfort.

The two pirates led Evangeline down to the main deck and to the right, where there was a small side cabin. The door was open, so Evangeline peered in to get a good look around. It was small, but nothing like her cell in the asylum. Off to the right was a small window, which would give her access to an ocean view and breeze, if she wished. To the left, there was a small bed hugging the wall, with a pile of clothes lying on top of the pillow, and along the center wall was a desk. On the desk, there was a brush, a few rags, and a wash basin.

Evangeline walked over to the bed and spread them over the bed. Rhodes had managed to find a white shirt, a dark, navy blue vest, black trousers, and a pair of brown boots, which were on the floor next to the bed.

"That's what I was able to find for ye," Rhodes said. "We brought the basin out of the hold. Must've been in one of the ships we plundered."

Evangeline looked at the two pirates and smiled. It was a genuine smile. "Thank you," she said. "Both of you."

Porthos and Rhodes were beaming at the sight of her smiling. "Yer welcome, lass," Porthos said. Sensing that she might want to get cleaned up, he added, "We'll leave ye to it, then. First Mate'll be down to look at yer arms when ye are done."

Evangeline nodded in understanding. Porthos and Rhodes backed out of the room to give her privacy, and shut the door. She immediately went straight over to the basin and dipped one of the rags in the water. She splashed water on her face and began "bathing" herself. She started by wiping all of the dirt off of her face. She then took the liberty of stripping down and, with the rag and a bar of soap she found behind the basin, scrubbing her entire body free of dirt and dried blood. She even took off the bandages from around her forearms and carefully washed off the dried blood. When she was done, she tended to her hair, which was an absolute mess. Deciding that the deck gets wet often, she slowly dumped the left over water over her head to rinse out the dirt, sweat, and blood. Knowing that was the best she could possibly do with her hair, she began to brush all of the knots out until her hair was lying flat.

Then, Evangeline put her change of clothes on. She had just put on her boots and fasten the last of the buttons of her vest when there was a knock on the door.

"Miss Turner?" a voice called out from behind the door.

"Come in," Evangeline replied.

The door opened to reveal another older looking pirate. He had brown hair that was tied back by a dark-colored ribbon, with greying muttonchops facial hair. He wore what looked like the remainder of a Naval warrant officer's, and even wore a piece of cloth around his neck. He had soft, blue-grey eyes. There was something about him that Evangeline recognized, but just couldn't put her finger on.

"Are you the first mate?" she asked.

"Aye, miss," the first mate said. "Joshamee Gibbs, at yer service, Miss Turner."

She took a look at the kit Mr. Gibbs had brought with him as she finished brushing through her ebony hair. She put the brush down and folded her arms. "I take it that you're here to look at my arms?" She wasn't really thrilled with the idea of someone taking a gander at the lesions running sideways across both of her arms.

"Aye, as the ship's doctor. I need to make sure they don't fester." He gestured for her to sit on the bed, and, reluctantly, she did so.

He pulled out another rag and some clean bandages, and then asked, "Will ye please roll up yer sleeves?"

Doing as she was told, Evangeline rolled the sleeves of her shirt slowly. It hurt a little to move the fabric across her wounds.

"Good God," Gibbs whispered. Looking at Evangeline, and then at her arms, he pulled up the only chair in the room, and got to work. "What did they do to ye?"

"The real question is what haven't they done," she said, hesitant on talking about it.

They remained silent, with the occasional gasp escaping from Evangeline's lips. She was still trying to pin point where she had seen the man before, but it, alas, eluded her.

"This is no way to treat a lady," she heard Gibbs mutter. "To think they get away with this."

"Yes, well, it's barbaric by all accounts," she said, trying to start a conversation with him. The silence was killing her.

"And they'll send ye in there fer no particular reason."

"Yes…wait. How do you know that?"

Gibbs sighed, and then looked up at her, his eye brimming with sorrow. "Because my niece was sent there, some time ago."

"I'm sorry. What was her name?"

"Chelsea. She had recently married and then disappeared, so to speak."

Evangeline's eyes widened. The memory of her dear friend rushed back to her, the memory of seeing her lifeless body in a pool of blood. Her eyes filled with tears. She suddenly realized who this man was. She remembered seeing him as a child, when she would play with Chelsea and before he left eight years ago.

" ?" she asked, making sure that she was correct in her assumption.

"Yes?" He looked right at those glistening blue orbs, realization gracing his expression. "Miss Evangeline?"

She nodded, tears escaping one by one.

Gibbs finished putting the bandages on her arms, and then put his hands on her shoulders. "Was Chelsea there? Was she alright?"

"She…she's…" She couldn't take it anymore. Evangeline let the tears flow, shaking her head as she did. She really didn't want to give her friend's uncle the terrible news of her death, but she couldn't hide it. Her shoulders shook as she sobbed.

Gibbs looked at the crying form in front of him, not believing that his niece was really gone, and in the hands of so-called doctors at that. Inside, he was grieving and broiling with anger. But right now, he could tell his niece's friend needed him. He got up and sat on the bed and hugged her close, letting her get the crying out of her system. When he thought she was done, he pulled her away from him to get a good look at her.

"Do ye have any family?" he asked.

She nodded. "I have a brother. He left England eight years ago to look for our father, but I don't know what happened to him."

Gibbs nodded in understanding. "Alright." He patted her on the shoulder, and handed her a leather pouch from within his tattered coat. "Drink this. And don't worry, I'll take care of ye. It's what she prob'ly would have wanted."

Evangeline nodded as she took a swig of the contents of the pouch. "I'd say the feeling is mutual." She took another swig. "What is this?" She wasn't use to drinking any alcohol of any kind, not even the wine at her wedding. The sweet, warm fire she felt coursing down her throat was a new sensation entirely, and she found that she rather enjoyed it.

"Rum," was Gibbs' simple response.

"Huh. Well, it's not as bad as people say it is." With that, she took yet another swig.

Gibbs chuckled and took the pouch from her, taking a swig himself. They went back and forth, one swig at a time until it was gone.

And that was the beginning of a beautiful and most unlikely friendship.


	3. Tortuga

Author's Note: I'm back for another chapter. It's been a while, I know, but I was trying to collect all of my thoughts for this chapter, and figuring out how it should go. But here it is! Just so you guys are aware, I might not upload another chapter for a while so that I can upload more chapters for my other stories. So check those out some time as well! This is a LONG chapter, so this should keep you guys at bay.

Thanks to those who have added this story to their favorites/subscriptions/alerts and thanks to:

**Tiff fromschool:**_ :) Join the club, we've got jackets._

** . :**_ Thank you. Hopefully it goes as planned._

**Upisdowngirl:** _I'm glad you're enjoying it! Honestly, I was kind of afraid that someone else had done something like this. I'm glad I just went with my gut feeling and did it! To answer your other question, you'll have to wait and find out! I'll give you a hint though-it explains in this chapter :)_.

**2bethz2:** _Lol! Glad you love it! _

**dionne dance:** _Thanks, and trust me, it's not pretty. You'll hate him just as much as I do by the end of this chapter._

**Guest:** _Soon. Very soon!_

You are the ones that keep me going!

Here you guys go. Enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean, just Evangeline. Otherwise, I would be giving Barbossa a piece of my mind!

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**Chapter Three: Tortuga**

The next few weeks were the best Evangeline ever had in two months. She took the first few days to rest up and recover her strength. Bethlehem Asylum really took it out of her, their different methods of "treatment" being the cause of that. After that, Captain Starky figured that she was well enough that she could help around the ship.

Knowing she most likely didn't know anything about running a ship, Gibbs took the time to show her how to tie knots and splice ropes; how to repair leaks and holes in the hull; how to tie down the rigging; and how to patch the sails. He showed her how to do the duties of any sailor. And he quickly learned that she was a fast learner. Soon, she was out-running the rest of the crew when it came to getting the ship underway. She had officially become an able-bodied sea woman.

_Maybe there are some exceptions to the 'superstitions'_, Gibbs thought. _Evangeline has been everythin' but bad luck. Poor thing has probably seen more bad luck than she's caused._

Evangeline had grown to like the crew, growing closer to Gibbs, who she considered her father-figure. Since her own father left her and brother with their mother some years ago, and her only brother leaving her after their said-mother passed away, she didn't really have any family to count on. She had grown close to Porthos, Rhodes, and Reggie, one of the crew members that had been suspected of stealing the ship's rum supply the first day she was found out. And although she did not entirely trust the crew, she still considered them family.

Captain Starky was the only one who distanced himself from her. The only time he communicated anything to her was when he gave her orders or when he finally revealed their destination to her: Tortuga.

_Tortuga,_ she thought. _The only free port in these waters. No one looking for me. I'm sure word's reached other ports about my escape from the asylum._ She smiled at the thought, though. She had finally gained that freedom she longed for and deserved.

On the finally week of their voyage, Evangeline woke up extremely happy. She practically ran out of her cabin and right into Gibbs.

"Oh, sorry, Gibbs!" she exclaimed with a smile on her face. "I didn't mean to run right into you."

"It's alright, lass," he smiled, chuckling. He then raised an eyebrow. "Why the rush?"

Evangeline tucked some of her curls behind her ear. "No reason really. I just want to get my duties done for the day."

Gibbs gave her his you-can't-fool-me look, and she instantly gave in. "It's my birthday."

"Yer birthday, ye say?" he asked.

Porthos and Rhodes were close enough to them that they heard this. "Happy Bir'day, Miss Evangeline," Porthos greeted her.

She smiled, a little color flooding her cheeks. She didn't realize they were so close by. "Thank you." Turning to Gibbs, she asked, "What are my duties for the day?"

Gibbs gave her a puzzled look. _She expects to be working on her birthday?_ he wondered. "Uh…why don't ye start out by helpin' out in the crow's nest?"

"Aye, aye, sir!" she exclaimed, saluting Gibbs and running to the rigging to begin her climb.

Gibbs looked over at Porthos and Rhodes, and gestured for them to come closer. When they were, he whispered, "Did either of ye know it was her birthday?"

Porthos merely shook his head, while Rhodes did the same asking, "What are we gonna do for Miss Evangeline?" It wasn't every day that they got to celebrate a crewmember's birthday. Hell, they hardly did when it _was_ one of their birthdays.

"I'll tell ye what we're gonna do. We're gonna scrounge up what we can and make her a gift."

"Wha' are we gonna make 'er?" Porthos asked.

Gibbs paused, wondering what on God's green earth they could make her. Then it dawned on him. "Which one of ye knows how to sew?"

Sheepishly, Rhodes raised his hand.

"Alright then, here's what we're gonna do. We—"

"Mr. Gibbs, Porthos, Mr. Rhodes," a voice addressed from behind the group. "Why aren't ye attendin' ta yer duties?"

The three men turned. Unbeknownst to them, Captain Starky had walked right up to them, noticing their lack of work ethic.

Hesitantly, Rhodes said, "We're plannin' a present for Miss Evangeline."

"A present?" Starky eyed them suspiciously.

"Aye, Cap'n," Porthos answered. "See, it be 'er bir'day, Cap'n."

Captain Starky raised an eyebrow and then looked up at the crow's nest, where he could see Evangeline looking through a spyglass, out towards the open ocean.

"Is it now?" he asked. A smile grew across his face. The three men standing in front of him weren't sure if they liked the look he had currently. Turning back to them, he said, "Carry on."

xxx

Later that night, when Evangeline exited her cabin, she was surprised to see that the entire crew, minus Starky, was waiting for her, with Porthos, Rhodes, and Gibbs standing in the front.

"What's going on?" she asked, immediately sensing that something was up.

"Well," Gibbs began. "We figured, with it bein' yer birthday an' all, that—"

"We got you a couple o' presents, from all o' us." Rhodes interrupted, receiving Gibbs' elbow in his side.

"You what?"

At that, they pulled out a small satchel. It was made of different fabrics, and looked like something a tailor would sell at his shop.

"That's for me?" she asked, taking it from Rhodes. "It's beautiful!"

"You're not pullin' me leg, are you?" he asked.

Evangeline shook her head. "No! No, I love it! Thank you."

"We figured ye wanted something to keep yer treasures in since ye don't 'ave a sea chest," Porthos explained.

Evangeline beamed at the crew. Seeing her smile made all of them happy. She had more color to her face than she did when they first found her, more so that it looked like she was glowing. They were happy that she was happy. "Thank you," she said.

"The rest of the crew pulled somethin' together for ye as well," Gibbs said.

Reggie, a stout, 4'11", blonde haired sailor, walked up to Evangeline, presenting her with her own scabbard and…

"My very own sword?"

"Aye," Reggie said. "We retrieved it from below decks. We shined it an' ev'rythin' fer ye. Figured ye need ta be able ta protect yerself."

Evangeline put the scabbard on over her shoulder and then examined the cutlass. It was a typical cutlass, with a slightly curved blade, leaf-shaped guard, and an ornate pommel. The crew had definitely taken the time to shine it up. She sheathed the sword and then looked at the crew.

"It suits ye, lass," Porthos observed.

Evangeline blushed. "Thank you."

After giving her the presents, the crew of the _Percephany_ threw her a party. The cook brought up the food he had been preparing all afternoon, and rum was passed around while entertainment was provided by the more musically-inclined members of the crew. They sang traditional shanties, and even dragged Evangeline into some of them. They even managed to convince her to dance with some of them. Gibbs told them stories about his adventures and about some of the people he had met along the way.

The crew took the time to teach Evangeline the proper way to wield her new cutlass, and each took turns sparring with her. She was sparring with Reggie, winning hands down, when Gibbs said, "Ye sure are a fast learner, Evangeline."

Evangeline parried a blow from Reggie, slashing the sword away from him. She had won their match. Looking at Gibbs, she asked "You really think that?"

"Aye," Porthos chimed in. "Not many can learn 'ow to fight that quickly. It takes practice."

She nodded in understanding.

Gibbs chuckled. "I'm sure if we put 'er up against Jack, she'd either win or be fairly close."

Evangeline gave him a puzzled look. "Jack?" she wondered.

"Aye, Jack Sparrow," Rhodes replied. "Gibbs used to work for 'im. Not sure what happened to 'im, though."

Evangeline's eyes widened. She had read about the exploits of Captain Jack Sparrow when she was younger, and had heard all of the rumors when she was living in the streets of London.

"Captain Jack Sparrow?" she asked. "You never told me that!"

"I did, when I told ye about our venture in New Guinea," Gibbs stated, as-a-matter-of-factly.

"That was him?"

"Aye," he answered proudly.

Evangeline smiled, ecstatic at the fact that she knew someone who had worked for the infamous pirate captain. He was probably one of the best pirates she had ever heard of.

She had always been jealous of pirates. They were free to go wherever they wanted, do whatever they pleased. She had been stuck living on the streets and members of high society for so long that she never realized what was out there in the world. Her escape from Bethlehem Asylum was her ticket to freedom.

Reggie broke her from her thoughts by asking, "Arm wrestlin' anyone?"

Everyone seemed to agree with that. Evangeline joined in on the fun and won a few rounds. More rum was passed around, and more singing was heard from some the crew. Evangeline couldn't be happier. She remembered the last birthday party she had, and that was ruined on her eleventh birthday when her brother left her to find their father. This party made up for it tenfold.

Evangeline had just won another round against Reggie when she decided it was time to turn in for the night.

"Bes' two outta three," Reggie said in a drunken stupor.

"No, Reggie. I think it's time I went to bed."

"Come on, lass. It's yer party! Don't turn in now!"

She giggled at Reggie's enthusiasm, and waved good night to the rest of the crew.

xxx

Captain Starky watched as Evangeline walked back to her cabin, and the rest of the crew cleaning up from the night's festivities.

Evangeline…

She had definitely changed over the past few weeks. When Porthos and Rhodes had brought her to him, she had been a pale, frightened girl, constantly flinching away from any of the crew. Now she was a confident, hard-working sea woman whose once matted hair was now flowing black locks that flowed freely in the wind. Her pale skin regained its peach color, and her eyes became a deeper blue, a blue that closely resembled the sea. _Absolutely beautiful_, Starky thought.

The deck had become quiet in a matter of minutes. Rhodes was on watch in the crow's nest, watching out for signs of the island of Tortuga. Porthos was stationed at the helm, and Gibbs was put on watch on deck.

With the rest of the crew either fast asleep below decks or on the main deck, distracted by stories or gambling, Captain Starky made his way toward the main deck and to the cabin on the right

xxx

_Evangeline was running, but she wasn't sure where she was running to. She just knew that she had to escape. She kept running down the cobblestone streets of London. She looked behind her briefly and wished she hadn't. Her late husband, Sean Flavisham, was running after her, an evil look on his face._

_Evangeline ran faster. When she looked in front of her, she noticed that she was coming upon a solid brick wall. A dead end. She felt rough hands grab her and turn her around. It was Sean._

"_No," she cried._

_He pushed her against the wall and started to choke her. As her eyesight began to blur, Sean turned into Dr. Helmsworth, greed and lust washing across his face. She began to cry for help, but no one came. She tried again, but no sound came out. She noticed a figure off in the distance. He was maybe a head taller than Evangeline, with brown curls pulled back by a ribbon and brown eyes that dripped with sorrow. He turned away from the scene._

_Evangeline began to cry, tears streaming from her eyes. She watched as the man walked away. "No," she managed to sob._

_She could feel Helmsworth's grip tighten. She looked up at him, her vision blurring even more. She noticed that he was no longer the doctor, but none other than Captain Starky. She could help but wonder why._

_She was beginning to black out. She called for help again, but it was more of a whisper. Evangeline looked off into the distance once more and notice yet another figure, but instead of turning away, this man was running towards her, and looked terrified._

_The man was a head taller than herself, with dark brown dreadlocks decorated by different baubles and a strip of bone tied in his hair. He wore a red bandana as well. His white shirt was opened up to show tanned skin; he wore a navy blue vest with grey trousers and brown boots, while he wore a red and white sash around his waist. Terror, sadness, and fear were dripping in his kohl-outlined, chocolate brown eyes._

_Evangeline tried to call out to him for help, but she couldn't. The next thing she knew, she was strapped to a table with Sean, Helmsworth, and Starky looming over her. In each of their hands, she could see large butcher's knives, which they raised simultaneously. Her eyes widened with fear, and she was finally able to scream as they raised them and brought them down quickly._

xxx

Evangeline woke with a start. She was practically gasping for air, the reality of the nightmare being too much for her to bear. She quickly looked around and saw only her cabin, the moonlight shining through the window.

"Thank God," she breathed. "It was only a dream."

As she shifted in her bed to lie back down, she felt a hand cover her mouth. This startled an already jumpy Evangeline. She was about to fight back when she finally made out the stranger's face.

"Shh!" Captain Starky whispered.

"Captain?" she asked. "What are you doing in here?" She was surprised that he would even sneak into a woman's cabin.

"I came to give ye yer bir'day present."

"Really?" She wasn't sure about this. Something seemed really off about the captain. "Captain, you didn't—"

She was interrupted when Starky pressed his severely chapped lips firmly against hers. She pushed herself away from him, a look of puzzlement and disgust on her face.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

That's when she caught a glimmer of greed, lust, and anger filling his emerald orbs. She became terrified.

"Getting' wha' is rightfully mine," was his statement. He pushed her down on the bed and pressed his lips against her neck.

Realizing what he was doing, Evangeline tried to push him off of her, but he grabbed a hold of her hands and held them down with one of his. He continued to kiss her neck, and with his free hand, he began to undo the buttons on her vest.

Evangeline struggled in protest against his actions. She was able to pull one of her legs out and kick him away. She got up and ran for the door, but the bugger was quicker and grabbed a hold of her waist, pushing her against the wall. He pinned her there while he unbuttoned more of her vest, and then her shirt, pressing his mouth against hers. Tears were erupting from her eyes as he continued on against her struggles.

_Why is this happening to me?_ she wondered.

Finally fed up with being treated like this, she brought her knee up and made contact with his groin. He hunched over in pain, allowing Evangeline to grab her scabbard and cutlass and make a break for the door. Unfortunately, the Starky recovered somewhat and grabbed onto one of her ankles, tripping her. Evangeline hit the floor with a thud, and began to crawl away from him. He pulled on her leg pulling her towards him. Frantically, she pulled against him, trying to reach the door. She was getting nowhere, only closer to him.

She screamed as loud as she could, hoping someone would hear her.

xxx

"HELP!" The screams travelled to Gibbs' ears without fail.

"Evangeline!" Gibbs shouted. He ran towards her cabin, with Porthos trailing behind her. He managed to tie the wheel down fast enough when he heard the screams.

As they busted open the door, they saw Captain Starky on top of Evangeline, slapping her across the face.

"I'll get what's right an' owin' ta me. Ye and Bootstrap'll pay me, an—"

Starky noticed Gibbs and Porthos at the door. Gibbs was starting to come at him, anger filling his eyes, when Evangeline pulled out her cutlass and swung at the captain. She gave him a nice cut on his arm, and he backed away in pain.

Gibbs still went for it anyway, and his fist made contact with Starky's face.

Evangeline was still lying on the floor, her cutlass raised and shock on her face. She couldn't believe that she just did that. Porthos walked over to her and helped her up. She sheathed her sword, and quickly buttoned her shirt back up.

Starky looked up at the three in anger. He started to go for Evangeline again, but Gibbs stopped him. "Ye'll not touch 'er again!" he spat at the captain. Turning to Evangeline, he saw how terrified she was, even though she managed to pull out her cutlass cause Starky some harm. He walked over to her and pulled her into a protective hug. She began to cry harder than she already had been. Gibbs rubbed the poor child's back, trying to calm her down.

"It'll be alright, Evangeline," he whispered. "I won't let 'im near ye."

He guided her out of the cabin, Porthos trailing behind them to give Evangeline extra protection.

_I won't be alright_, she thought. _I let my guard down again. I promised myself that I wouldn't let that happen, that I wouldn't let someone do that to me ever again._

The crew had gathered on the main deck, wanting to see what was going on. They had heard Evangeline's screams, and they were hoping that she was only having a nightmare.

"Miss Evangeline?" Reggie walked up to her with concern on his face. "What happened? Did ye 'ave another bad dream?"

Evangeline looked at Reggie, and shook her head. Her eyes were extremely red from all of her crying. She ran over to him and hugged him. He was confused, but he hugged her anyway, thinking maybe it would give her some comfort.

"The captain," she sobbed. "He…he tried to…"

Reggie looked at Gibbs, anger filling his eyes to the point where his expression matched those of Gibbs and Porthos. Rhodes had joined them and put a calming hand on Evangeline's shoulder. Soon the entire crew matched the three pirates.

A shot rang through the air, causing Evangeline to break from Reggie and face the monster, who had his pistol raised up to the sky.

Reggie pointed an angry, accusing finger at Captain Starky. "He was tryin' to take advantage o' Miss Evangeline!"

"Really?" Starky asked. "Is that what the wench told ye?"

"Aye!" the crew shouted, looking as if they were going to murder their captain in a matter of seconds.

"Well, then ye'll be glad ta know tha' it's quite the opposite."

Evangeline and Reggie exchanged looks of confusion.

Starky smirked. "Ye see," he said, pointing his pistol towards Evangeline, Porthos, and Gibbs. "These three here tryin' to bring down yer captain. A diabolical plan of mutiny created by tha' lunatic wench yer so fond of."

The crew, along with the accused, exchanged glances of confusion, surprise, and anger.

_What is he talking about?_ Evangeline wondered. _That's not what hap—_

She realized where the captain was going with this. "That's a lie!"

"Is it now?" Starky pointed the gun at her.

"It is, and you know it." She was seething with anger. Here he was, accusing her of something she didn't do when he had been caught to begin with. Now, he was trying to cover it up?

"Where's ye proof, Miss Turner? As far as I know, ye came onto me. Ye even cut my arm."

"In self-defense, you moron!" she shouted in anger. "There were even witnesses of you slapping me!"

"Aye!" Gibbs and Porthos agreed in unison, being said witnesses.

"And we all 'eard 'er screams, _Cap'n_," Reggie spat at Starky. "Even we know those weren't battle cries, but the cries of someone in distress."

"Aye," the rest of the crew said as they nodded in agreement.

Evangeline looked to the crew in admiration and appreciation. They were all willing to stand up for her, to stand up to their captain for her.

"We ain't goin' along wif yer story, we don't believe it," Reggie continued. "She was screamin' fer 'elp. An' those don't sound like mut—"

Reggie was cut short as another shot rang through the air. Everyone looked from Starky to Reggie, who fell with a thud.

"Reggie!" Evangeline screamed.

She ran over to him, as blood poured out of the wound in his chest. Her hands hovered over him, unsure of whether or not to touch him. The poor man coughed, blood squirting out as well, and he tried to say something.

"Shh! Don't talk," she whispered to him, as more tears were shed on her part. "You'll only make it worse."

Reggie smiled at her, life leaving his eyes. "I…I believe ye…" he managed to say. "He's a…bad un…Cap'n." The last word was nothing more than a whisper as he drew his last breath.

Evangeline couldn't believe what was happening. She couldn't believe that in a matter of weeks, she had lost two of her closest friends. Remember the death of Chelsea, more tears erupted from her blue orbs. She quickly turned to the monster who taken Reggie's life, anger and hatred pouring from her.

"You bastard!" she cried. "How could you?"

"I had ta set an example, Miss Turner," Starky replied with an evil smirk. "Standin' up for a wench such as yerself don't bode well with me."

"So you're willing to kill your entire crew if they stand up for me?"

"If tha' be the case, then so be it."

She didn't understand Starky at all. How could he be so cruel as to take advantage of her and then shoot his crew down for helping her? Where was the sense in all of this? Baring it no longer, Evangeline charged at Starky and started to punch him as hard as she could. The crew were surprised that she would brave to get close to the man who nearly destroyed her honor.

They grew even more surprised and worried when Starky grabbed a hold of Evangeline's wrist and turned her around. He held his pistol up to her temple.

Gibbs and Porthos looked extremely worried.

"Now, we're gonna have ta do somethin' about ye, missy," he hissed in her ear. It was still loud enough for everyone to here.

Evangeline said nothing. She was silently praying that he wouldn't kill her, like he did in her nightmare.

"Well, one things fer sure. Ta get ye off of my bloody ship!"

He pushed her roughly towards the starboard side of the ship, to where she almost stumbled right off and into the water. She stood but a few inches from the side, with Starky pointing the gun at her from a few feet behind her. Evangeline looked out toward the sea, at the crew, and then back to the sea. In the distance, she could see lights and could barely make out the outlines of ships.

_Land_, she thought.

She smirked inwardly. _Is he that much of a moron that he can't see he's dropping me off close to a port?_

"I hope yer a good swimmer, Miss Turner. Fer yer sake." He jabbed her in the back with the pistol, gesturing her to move forward. "Off ye go."

She looked back towards the crew, and gave them a soft smile. Then, without a second thought, she jumped ship, going under and then breaking through the surface, sword on hand. She began swimming for shore.

_Ruddy pumpkin head didn't think to take my sword off of me._

She heard another splash behind her, and quickly turned around. Mr. Gibbs had jumped ship and joined her.

"What are you doing?" Evangeline asked.

"I'm comin' with ye," was Gibbs reply. "Ye'll need someone to look after ye, and I figured I'm just the man for the job. Besides, I was plannin' on leavin' his crew once we made it to Tortuga anyway."

She smiled at the older pirate. _He did that, for me?_

"Thank you."

"Yer welcome, Evangeline. Now let's make way for Tortuga."

They continued to swim as fast as they could, should they come across any sharks or if Starky decided to come back for them. The two of them were almost to shore when they heard a faint gunshot behind them. Evangeline turned around just in time to notice a figure go over the edge of the ship.

"No!" she screamed. How many more had to die?

They heard no other gunshots as they made their way onto shore. The loud noises of Tortuga began to make their way to Evangeline's ears, so if there were, she didn't hear them, minus the ones that were in close quarters to them.

She tore her eyes away from the _Percephany_, and cast her sights on the pirate port. She could here merriment all around her, from the laughs of whores giving the men whatever pleasure they could muster to the shouts of those who were gambling or stealing from each other.

Gibbs looked at Evangeline and put a hand on her shoulder. She looked at him, and he gestured over to an inn not far from where they were standing, maybe a hundred feet away. On a sign above the door, it read _The Faithful Bride_.

"Welcome to Tortuga," Gibbs said with a hint of pride.

xxx

Two days had passed since he and the whelp set sail from Port Royal. Two days since he had had any decent meals. Two days since he had had any rum. For Captain Jack Sparrow, it was good to be on more familiar ground. Not that he wasn't familiar with Port Royal, but he preferred a Royal Navy-free port any day.

"It is indeed a sad life that has never breathed deep this sweet, proliferous bouquet that is Tortuga, savvy?" Jack was explaining to young Will Turner, while waving around a cane. "What do you think?"

The blacksmith looked around him, noticing a man drinking two tankards of rum at the same time while sitting under a leaking keg. "It'll linger," Will finally said.

"I'll tell you mate, if every town in the world were like this one, no man would ever feel unwanted."

As Jack said this, a woman in a red, almost purple dress with a plunging neckline and dark, red hair, waltzed right toward Jack.

"Scarlett!" he exclaimed, walking right up to her.

When he did, she slapped him so hard that it caused his head to spin and face Will.

"Not sure I deserved that." He turned around and saw that another woman, a blonde in a yellow gown by the name of Giselle, walked up to him. "Giselle!"

"Who was she?" she asked, gesturing towards Scarlett.

"What?"

Another slap across the face.

"I may have deserved that."

"So where to now, Jack?" Will asked, hoping he had a plan.

"A friend of mine should be here," Jack stated simply. "Left me a message to meet him somewhere on this bloody island."

"And I suppose you know where he is?"

Jack smirked. "Of course I do. Knowing him, he'll be behind the _Faithful Bride_." He gestured for Will to follow him.

And he was correct in his theory. There, lying in the mud of a pig pen, was none other than Jack's good friend, and past first mate, Joshamee Gibbs.

Putting a finger to his mouth, Jack signaled to Will to keep quiet, while grabbing a bucket full of water. Will did the same and followed him toward the sleep Gibbs. When they got over there, Jack threw water at Gibbs, who woke with a start, aiming a knife in no particular direction.

"Curse you for breathin', ye slacked-jawed idiot!" the older pirate yelled. He looked around, realizing he was awake, and saw Jack and Will standing in front of him. "Mother's love! Jack! Ye should know better than to wake a man while he's sleeping. 'S bad luck."

"Ah, fortunately, I know how to counter it," Jack pointed out. "The man who did the waking buys, the man who was sleeping, a drink. The man who was sleeping drinks it while listening to a proposition from the man who did the waking."

Both Will and Gibbs had a hard time following him. Eventually, Gibbs just nodded and said, "Aye, that'll 'bout do it."

Jack helped the man up. When Gibbs was standing fully erect, Will dowsed him with another bucketful of water.

"Blast! I'm already awake!"

"That was for the smell," Will simply stated. Jack nodded in approval, and so did Gibbs, after taking a deep breath and breathing in the fumes surrounding him.

With that, the three men headed into the _Faithful Bride_.

xxx

Jack pushed through the crowd, making his way to a table in a secluded corner, carrying two tankards of rum. He passed by Will, who was standing at a pillar next to the table Gibbs was currently sitting at.

"Keep a sharp eye," he warned young Turner.

He sat down at the table, handing Gibbs his tankard. Before he did, he decided to pull both back and forth, teasing the older pirate until he finally gave it to the poor man. Gibbs took it greedily.

Before he is able to take a swig, Jack says, "Just the one."

"Best make it last then, eh?" With that, he took a dainty sip, and then asked, "Now, what's the nature of this venture yor'un?"

"I'm going after the _Black Pearl_."

Gibbs nearly choked on his rum.

"I know where it's going to be, and Im going to take it."

"Jack, it's a fool's errand. You know better than I the tales of the _Black Pearl_."

"That's why I know what Barbossa is up to," Jack explained. "All I need is a crew."

Gibbs ignored that last comment. "From what I hear tell of Captain Barbossa, he's not a man to suffer fools nor strike a bargain with one."

"Then I'd say it's a fortunate thing I'm not a fool, eh?"

"Prove me, wrong. What makes ye think Barbossa'll give up his ship to you?"

Jack lowered his voice. "Let's just say it's a matter of leverage, eh?"

Gibbs wasn't following. Jack jerked his head toward Will, hoping his friend would get what he was trying to say. When he wasn't, he added in some grunts until finally, Gibbs looked over to Will, who had found himself in the unfortunate company of an oversized wench.

"The kid?" he asked.

"That is the child of Bootstrap Bill Turner," Jack said.

Gibbs eyes widened. _Bill Turner?_ he wondered. Then he remembered his time on Starky's ship, and a certain girl who was currently in her room upstairs. _Evangeline's father was Bootstrap. That means_…

"His only child," Jack continued. "Savvy?"

"Is he now?" Gibbs looked at Will. _Does Jack not know the kid has a sister?_ "Leverage, says you. I feel a change in the wind, says I. I'll find us a crew. There's bound to be some sailors on this rock crazy as you."

Jack picked up his tankard, Gibbs mimicking his motions. "Take what you can."

"Give nothin' back," Gibbs said.

Both men took a long swig of their rum, and then set their tankards down. At the same time, Will pulled out his sword and flipped a table over, causing everyone in the tavern to look in his direction. In a matter of seconds, though, everyone returned to whatever it was they were doing.

"Kid's a bit of a stick, isn't he?" Gibbs asked.

"You've no idea," Jack said. He took another swig of his rum.

"Since I be the one puttin' together the crew, I have a bit of a request to make of ye, Jack."

"What is it, Mr. Gibbs?"

"Well, it seems that one the last ship I served I picked up a passenger. She's no family, and I certainly don't want to leave 'er here. Not after everything she's been through."

"She?" Jack asked. "Your passenger is a she?"

"You sound surprised."

"Of course I do. Wasn't it you who always said it was bad luck to bring women aboard a ship?"

"This one is different. If ye knew her story, you'd be in the same position."

Jack instantly became curious. "And what is her story, eh?"

Gibbs rolled his eyes, knowing that this was coming. "To put it briefly, the poor girl was wrongfully committed to Bethlehem Asylum in London."

"Wrongfully? How so?"

"You'll have to ask her that yerself. My lips are sealed on that. But I can tell ye that she managed to escape and stowed away aboard the very same ship I was hired on. Ever since we found her, she had become a part of the crew. And now she's here with me."

"What ship, Gibbs?"

"The _Percephany_."

Jack's eyes widened, and it was his turn to choke on rum. "Starky's ship?"

"Aye, that perfidious rotter. Has no right to be captain."

"What happened?"

Gibbs took a deep breath. "Well, just two days ago, Starky had tried to take advantage of the poor girl. One of the crew members and I caught him in the act, and we got her out of her cabin."

"The man snuck into her cabin?" Jack seemed disgusted.

"Aye. He even went to great depths to cover it up by calling it a mutiny. The rest of the crew didn't believe it. Starky even shot a man to prove his point to the girl. He pointed the gun to her back and made her jump ship."

"And it's obvious that you did as well."

"I wasn't gonna leave her here by her lonesome, Jack. Not after having to go through that."

Jack nodded in approval. "You're right, I probably would have done the same."

"So, can she come along?"

"You want to bring her along?" Jack took another swig of rum.

"Aye," Gibbs said as he, too, took another swig of rum. "She's a good hand to have, as well. Taught her everythin' she knows," he added proudly.

"Really?"

"Aye, she's quick to learn."

Jack looked thoughtful for a moment. Gibbs looked at his friend, hoping he would acquiesce. "Alright, fair enough."

Gibbs smiled, glad to hear that the girl could come along. _Maybe Evangeline will cheer up a bit hearing the news,_ he thought. He finished off his rum, and looked to Jack in appreciation. "Thanks, Jack. I say it be time to look for said crew."

"Take the whelp with you," Jack added.

Gibbs passed the pillar and, pulling on Will's arm, he said, "Let's get to it, lad."

"What are we doing?" Will asked.

"Lookin' for a crew."

Jack watched as his first mate led young Turner out of the tavern. He decided to finish his rum and headed out of the tavern himself.

_No way in Hell I'm letting another ship slip from my command_, the captain thought.

With that, Jack followed the path to the docks, and back to the _Interceptor_.

Little did he know that a girl was watching him from a second story window of the _Faithful Bride_.

* * *

A/N: Well, now were are caught up with the movie. I was going to write this chapter a little bit differently, but this became the end product. If you guys are interested in seeing what the original chapter was going to be, PM me and let me know, and I will send it to you. But until then, hope you enjoyed the chapter, and don't forget to review. I need as much feedback as possible. And please, NO FLAMES! I like to wave at them as they pass by.

~Xanthe


	4. The Interceptor

Author's Note: So…I lied. Instead of working on chapters for my other stories, I decided to work on another chapter of this one. I guess I just don't have enough motivation to work on those. But eventually I will, so don't worry.

And speaking of my other stories, I'm not sure if I'm going to continue with my _Remixed_ series for _Pirates of the Caribbean_. It's not getting as great reception as I thought-or hoped- it would, and I don't think I'm really happy with it. If I keep it, it would have to go through some drastic changes, but who knows. Any thoughts on that? My head is buzzing with a new idea for a POTC story, but I will most likely not start it until this one is further along and once I've finished my _Kingdom Hearts_ story. If you're interested to know more about that, send me a message or leave it in a review and I will message you about it.

I am planning on posting some drawings of Evangeline on my deviantART page as soon as I can. That way, you guys have an idea of what she looked like in the asylum, as a child, and what she looks like now that escaped Bethlehem Asylum *shudders*.

Well…that's all I've gotta say. Hope you enjoy this chapter! Just so you're aware, this story is going to follow all of the movies and go beyond that! Just so you know! : )

Thanks to thos of you who favorited/subscribed/alerted, and to those of you who took the time to review: **Tiff fromschool, Upisdowngirl **(don't know if I told you this already, but I love your username), **2bethz2, dionne dance, Guest, and .Wings.x**. I also have to thank my friend who I practically begged to read this because I wanted more feedback. Love ya, Michelle! And you all rock! Sparrow shaped cookies and rum for everyone!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean. If I did…well, let's just say that I wouldn't be sitting here typing to my heart's content. I would be otherwise occupied with a certain pirate captain…if you catch my drift.

* * *

**Chapter Four: The **_**Interceptor**_

Evangeline struggled to rub the sleep from her eyes. With the nightmares she's been having lately, she was surprised to even get the two hours of sleep she did.

She stood on the dock with Gibbs and a motley crew pirates, waiting for their new captain to make his presence known. Gibbs had them line up, and Evangeline caught a glimpse of one sailor who was no taller than her waist.

_Pirates come in all sizes, I suppose,_ she thought with a small smile.

She followed Gibbs' every step to get a good look at her fellow crewmembers, passing by an older looking sailor, probably older than Gibbs, with a colorful parrot on his shoulder. As Evangeline passed by, the parrot squawked, "Awk! Pretty girl! Awk!"

Upon hearing this, Evangeline could do nothing to keep from blushing.

Gibbs turned on his heel rather quickly and said, "Now, Cotton, none of that!"

Evangeline gave Gibbs a puzzled look. "He didn't say that, the parrot did."

Gibbs opened his mouth to say something, but he was distracted by something, or rather some_one_ behind her. The soft thudding of boots against the boards of the dock drew Gibbs' attention to said person. "Jack!" he exclaimed.

"Seems you were able to pull it off, mate," a voice said behind her.

At that point, Evangeline turned around to see who had joined them. Her eyes widened when she saw, with the addition of a dark, navy blue coat and dark brown tri-corn hat, the man she had seen in her dream.

_It can't be!_ she thought.

A smile crept across Jack's face. "And who is this, Gibbs?"

Gibbs walked over to where he was standing next to Jack. "This is Miss Evangeline Turner, Cap'n. Served alongside me aboard the _Percephany_. She's my passenger, so to speak."

_Turner?_ Jack wondered. He looked Evangeline up and down, from her raven hair to her deep, blue eyes, and then it clicked. _So the whelp has a sister? This should be interesting_.

Not only could she see him staring at her, Evangeline could feel Jack watching her, his dark, chocolate eyes darting across her face, darting up and down her figure. She felt naked. "Captain?" she asked.

Another smile swept across his face. He offered a ringed hand to her. Evangeline looked at his hand thoughtfully and, deciding that it wasn't going to hurt her, she took it hesitantly. Jack turned her hand over. "Captain Jack Sparrow, at your service, love." He brought her hand up to his lips and placed a chaste kiss upon it. Evangeline could feel the heat returning to her cheeks.

At this, Gibbs rolled his eyes. It didn't go unnoticed by Evangeline, who fought to stifle a giggle.

As he pulled away, Jack noticed the bandage around her wrist, and a puzzled look spread across his face. Evangeline must have noticed, too, because she quickly yanked her hand away and pulled down her sleeve.

_Don't let your guard down_, she reminded herself. _Even if he was trying to help you out in your dream, don't' let your guard down_.

She looked back at Jack through her eyelashes. She caught a glint of something in his eye. Was that…concern?

_So Gibbs was tellin' the truth_, Jack thought. Realizing that he had been staring too long, he shook his head and then turned to Gibbs. "Where's the whelp?"

Gibbs opened his mouth to answer, but as if on cue, another set of footsteps thudded against the wooden dock, and Will Turner joined the group. Evangeline turned to face yet another figure she recognized from her dream. The figure who had turned away.

Will took a good look at the sailors that were gathered until he eyes came to Evangeline. He took a good look at her, and, as if in realization, his brown eyes widened.

"It's about time, lad," Jack said finally.

"I would have been here quicker," Will stated. "But I got caught up."

"In what, may I ask?" Jack asked out of pure amusement.

"Jack," Gibbs warned.

The captain looked at his first mate, and then rolled his eyes. "Well, let's get on with it, then."

"Right," Gibbs said. Turning to the new crew, he added. "Feast yer eye, Cap'n. All of 'em, faithful hands before the mast, every man worth his salt."

At that last statement, Jack and Gibbs stopped in front of the small sailor who Evangeline noticed earlier. Gibbs added, "And crazy to boot." Evangeline glared at him at that comment. "No offense," he quickly added.

"None taken," was her terse answer.

Will stopped looking at Evangeline and walked up to Jack, right behind him, and took another quick look at the crew. "So _this_ is your able-bodied crew?" He didn't seem too impressed.

Evangeline walked up close to him, and mumbled, "What's wrong with them? They look fine to me."

Will looked at her in shock. _Did she really get a good look at them?_ he wondered.

She noticed Jack walking over to Cotton and quickly followed, with Will and Gibbs trailing them.

"You, sailor!" Jack exclaimed.

"Cotton, sir," Evangeline said.

"Mr. Cotton. Do you have the courage and fortitude to follow orders and stay true in the face of danger and almost certain death?"

No answer came. Cotton just stared at Gibbs.

_Why doesn't he answer?_ Evangeline wondered.

"Mr. Cotton!" Jack exclaimed irritated. "Answer me!"

"He's a mute, sir," Gibbs explained. "Poor devil had his tongue cut out."

_Oh. That's why._ Cotton opened his mouth to show them his missing tongue. Jack grimaced, sticking his tongue out to make sure it was still there, while Will just merely grimaced. Evangeline stuck her finger in her mouth to feel around for her own tongue, glad to know it was still there.

"So," Gibbs continued. "He trained the parrot to talk for him. No one's figured out how."

Evangeline looked up at Will, who was standing a bit too close for her liking. She took in his features, from his brown eyes to his curly brown hair, which was pulled back by a dark green ribbon. _He looks…familiar,_ she thought. _But why? Besides my dream, have I seen him before? He looks just like my…_Then it clicked. _Will?_

Jack began to walk away from the older pirate, but then stopped. "Mr. Cotton's parrot, same question."

"Awk! Wind in your sails!" the parrot squawked.

Jack, Will, and Evangeline looked on in confusion.

"Mostly we figure that means yes," Gibbs explained.

"Of course it does," Evangeline said.

Jack turned to Will. "Satisfied?" he asked.

"Well, you've proven they're mad," he answered.

Will received a glare from Evangeline and Gibbs. _What did I say?_ he wondered.

"Quite," Evangeline growled, crossing her arms across her chest.

"And what's the benefit for us?" a rather feminine voice asked.

Jack and Gibbs turned toward the voice while Evangeline glared at Will. Noticing out of the corner of her eye that the other two were on the move, she quickly turned and followed behind Gibbs. Will joined them, and stood behind Jack to avoid the girl's glare.

Jack leaned down to peer underneath a sailor's hat. It was covering their face, so he couldn't really make out what they looked like. Until he grabbed a hold of the rim of the hat and pulled it off, revealing an angry, dark-skinned, female sailor, whose hair was being held back by a yellow bandana.

"Ana Maria," Jack said.

In a matter of seconds, Ana Maria slapped Jack hard enough to cause him to whip his head to face Will and Evangeline, who had her hand covering her mouth.

_Did he even deserve that?_ Evangeline wondered.

"I suppose you didn't deserve that one either?" Will asked.

"No, that one I deserved." Ana Maria nodded in agreement.

"You stole my boat!" she accused Jack, who was brave enough to face her again.

_Maybe he did deserve it, then._

"Actually—"

He was interrupted by another slap, and he was facing Will and Evangeline once again. The young girl rolled her eyes.

"Borrowed. Borrowed without permission, but with every intention of bringing it back." Jack dared to face Ana Maria.

"But you didn't!" Ana Maria argued.

"You'll get another one!" Jack said, most likely to appease the woman.

She pointed at him in a threatening manner. "I will."

"A better one," Will said.

"A better one," Jack repeated.

Will pointed to a ship off in the distance. "That one."

"What one?" Jack asked.

Will gestured toward the ship in the distance once more. Jack, along with everyone else on the dock turned to see what he was talking about. Everyone looked back at Will. Jack didn't look pleased.

"That one?!" he asked incredulously. The sailors, along with a thoughtful Ana Maria, looked expectantly towards Jack.

"Aye, that one!" he said, turning to face the crew. "What say you?"

"Aye!" Ana Maria shouted. The crew repeated in unison "Aye!" and began to gather the supplies that were to be put aboard the ship. Snatching the hat from Jack, Ana Maria stormed off to help with loading.

Gibbs shuffled next to Jack. "No, no, no, no. It's frightful bad luck to bring a woman aboard, sir."

Evangeline shot Gibbs a quick glance. "Hey!"

"Let me rephrase that—it's bad luck to bring women like Ana Maria aboard."

"Better," Evangeline muttered.

"It'd be far worse not to have her," was Jack's comment as he was staring off into the distance. Then, he slowly walked off.

Will, Gibbs, and Evangeline looked out to where he did, but didn't notice anything.

"What do you suppose he was looking at, Gibbs?" Evangeline asked.

"Who knows," came the older pirate's answer.

Evangeline shrugged and took a deep breath. "Oh, I think I know why."

"Do you?"

"Storm's coming."

Will looked at her in disbelief. "How can you tell?"

She glared at him. "Don't ask me stupid questions, Will. Not unless you want to get hurt."

Both Gibbs and Will looked at her incredulously—Will, because he realized he had never introduced himself; Gibbs, because he didn't think she could sound so cold, even if he knew why.

_Does she know me?_ Will wondered.

"How do you know me?" he asked.

No one had noticed that Jack had walked back towards the small group. So Jack made it back just in time to witness Evangeline slap Will the same way Ana Maria had just slapped him. The pirate captain had to fight back the urge to laugh.

"Maybe that will remind you, huh?" With that, she stormed off, but not without adding, "Willy!"

Will's eyes widened at his childhood name. The one given to him by…

_No,_ he thought. _It can't be!_

As soon as she was far enough away, Jack let out the laughter he was holding in. To a shocked Will, he asked, "What did you do to deserve that, so that I may not do it?"

"Not sure," came Will's answer. "But I am sure of one thing."

"And what is that, young William?"

"She's my little sister." With that, he briskly walked after Evangeline.

Jack and Gibbs looked at each other, and then towards the retreating siblings.

_I knew it_, was Jack's only thought. And he'd never realize that his first mate was thinking the same thing.

xxx

Jack's trademark grin swept across his face. Gibbs had really outdone himself. He had managed to find a crew that was competent enough to carry out his orders quickly and do it the right way. What really surprised Jack was Gibbs' protégé, Evangeline. From what Gibbs had told him, she was the least experienced of the crew, minus her whelp of a brother, but she was able to carry out his orders and do her duties the right way as if she had been doing them her whole life. She was quick about it, too. With her help, it didn't take long for them to get underway.

_Gibbs seems to have taught her well_, he thought. _She seems to have even outshone her dear brother._

That was another thing that took him by surprise. He just couldn't seem to come up with an idea of what the whelp could have done to really irk her, at least enough to cause her to slap him the way she did.

_Guess I'll find out eventually._

"Captain?" he heard a soft, feminine voice ask.

_Speak of the devil_. "Aye, Miss Turner?"

"What else would you have me do, Captain?"

"Scuse me?" he asked with a smile. He didn't understand what she was asking, but he enjoyed the fact that the lass used his title when addressing him.

"I've already helped securing the lines for the rigging," Evangeline explained. "What else would you like me to do?"

"Oh…uh…I suppose if you really want something to do, you can grab a bucket and swab the deck."

Evangeline nodded thoughtfully and then said, "Aye, Captain." She took off for the hold to find a bucket. As she did, he noticed that she pulled a blue ribbon from her pocket and pulled her raven locks into a ponytail.

Jack couldn't help but smile at the girl's initiative. He had to admit, she was a big help.

_I'm beginning to like the lass_, he thought. _If all goes well, I'll keep her aboard the _Pearl _as part of me crew. And maybe that'll keep her mind off of that dreadful asylum._

_**What do you care? **_a small voice in the back of his head asked.

_Oh, shut it! No one deserves __**that **__kind of treatment._

His thoughts were broken by Gibbs. "I know that look."

"What?" Jack asked innocently.

"Yer not plannin' on usin' her for yer plan, are ye?"

"No," he answered honestly. "The thought never crossed me mind. Don't suppose you've told her about that?"

Gibbs sighed. "No."

"Good. Don't need anyone to tell the whelp." She may be mad at him for some reason, but he was still her brother.

Jack pulled out his compass and took a good look at it. Any questions Gibbs was going to ask him went unasked as Jack waved his hand at him dismissively.

As Gibbs was walking down the stairs from the helm, Jack called out, "You did a fine job with her, mate."

Gibbs smiled at Jack with pride, and then continued with his descent down the stairs.

xxx

Evangeline pulled the brush from the bucket and continued to scrub the deck when someone walked up to her, blocking her light and the bit of deck she was trying to clean. She looked up, and, to her displeasure, found that someone to be Will.

"We need to talk," he said.

Evangeline continued to scrub. "I'm a little busy at the moment, as you can obviously see."

"Please, Evangeline?"

Evangeline closed her eyes and groaned, stopping what she was doing. She put the brush in the bucket and stood up to face him. "What is it, Will?" she asked, venom dripping in her tone.

"Why did you slap me? Back in Tortuga?"

"Why did I slap you?"

Will nodded.

"I was angry. I still am. And you deserved it."

Little did the two know, a certain captain was eavesdropping.

"What did I do to deserve that?"

Evangeline crossed her arms across her chest and jutted her neck out for emphasis. "You left."

Will sighed. "I left you a letter."

She shook her head. "And you think it matters whether you left a letter or not? You left me after mother died."

"Only to find our father," Will pointed out.

"Will you shut it and let me finish?"

Will nodded, gesturing for her to continue.

"After you left, I was out on the streets. I had nowhere to go. I'm just lucky that a well-brought up family decided to take me in."

"That's good."

"No, it's not! You know why?"

"Why?" Will asked.

"Because just two months ago, they married me off. Two months ago…I…I was committed to Bethlehem Asylum." Her voice was starting to break.

Both Will's and Jack's eyes widened. "What?" Will asked.

_She was put in __**that**__ asylum?_ Jack wondered.

"Yeah, so while you were down here, most likely having the time of your life and trying to find Father, I was being tortured. I was treated as if I wasn't even human. I'm lucky I was able to escape with my life." Evangeline fought hard to keep back the tears that were forming at the memory of her friend.

"Evangeline, I had no idea—"

"Of course you didn't! You didn't even bother to send word about whether or not you were alright, or if you had even found our father. For the past eight years I thought the both of you were dead." She couldn't hold the tears back anymore.

"Evangeline—"

"No, Will. I…I'm done talking to you right now." She wiped the tears from her cheeks and eyes. "I have duties I need to perform."

She turned to continue scrubbing, but Will grabbed a hold of her arm tightly. He obviously wasn't done talking yet—he wanted to know about his baby sister's troubles, like how she got into the asylum in the first place.

But there was no way he was ever going to find out.

Evangeline looked down at Will's hand on her arm and then looked at him in alarm. "Let go of me, Will," she begged.

"I want to know—"

"Let go of me!" she practically screamed. He looked down at her, his brown eyes bearing into her blue ones, and noticed something that shouldn't be there. Something his sister shouldn't feel while he was holding on to her. Was that fear?

Will let go of Evangeline, whose breathing had picked up. As soon as she was out of his grasp, she took off towards the bow of the _Interceptor_.

Gibbs noticed what happened, and took off after Evangeline.

Will looked on, fear and sadness filling his own eyes. _I want to understand_, he thought. _What happened to you?_

xxx

Evangeline had been right. A storm hit that evening. Waves hit the sides of the _Interceptor_, pushing sailors down with their force. The wind had picked up, and the rain was doing nothing to help their situation.

Evangeline was surprised that anyone was able to understand Jack over the sounds of thunder and lightning, or the sounds of the waves crashing against the ship. They could barely hear each other. She was standing next to Gibbs, trying to tie down a line when she heard Will shout over the winds.

"How can we sail to an island that nobody can find," he shouted. "With a compass that doesn't work?"

"Aye," she heard Gibbs shout back. "The compass doesn't point north. But we're not trying to find north, are we?"

_Huh?_ Evangeline thought. _What on earth are they talking about? What did Will mean by 'a compass that doesn't point north'?_

Evangeline succeeded in tightening the line and walked off towards the helm, where Jack was fighting the wheel, trying to keep them on course.

"We should drop canvas, sir!" she shouted over a clap of thunder.

Jack's intent eyes looked away from in front of him and looked to Evangeline. "She can hold a bit longer!" he shouted back.

Gibbs had taken the time to make his way over. "What's in yer head as puts ye in such a fine mood, Cap'n?" he asked.

"We're catching up!"

Evangeline looked at Gibbs and then back towards Jack. _What are they trying to catch up to?_ she wondered. She shook her head, deciding that it wasn't worth trying to figure out at the moment. She walked, more stumbled, towards the bow to help Cotton and the diminutive pirate, who she learned was named Marty. As she made her way over there, a large piece of cloth, probably a corner of an old sail, was picked up by the wind and covered up her face. This took her completely by surprise. If she had been any normal girl, she would have just yanked it off and then carried on. Instead, her breathing picked up drastically. Memories of Bethlehem Asylum began to flood her mind. Her breathing picked up more, and Evangeline screamed.

Everyone, including a terrified Will, heard her screams of fear and terror over the clap of thunder.

Her heavy breathing, in combination with the wet cloth, made it difficult for her to breathe regularly, so Evangeline passed out on deck.

"Evangeline!" both Will and Gibbs shouted in unison. Will rushed to his sister's aid.

Jack, who had heard the poor girl's screams and their shouts, looked to the bow where she had fallen. "Mr. Gibbs!" he shouted.

"Aye, Cap'n?" Jack could see the worry in the older pirate's eyes. He could hear it in his voice as well.

"Take the helm!" he ordered. He didn't let go of the wheel until it was safe in Gibbs' grasp. He then handed him his compass. "Keep us on course."

Gibbs could only nod, his worry for Evangeline overcoming him.

Jack rushed over to where Will was. Will, thankfully, pulled the cloth away from Evangeline's face and was holding it in one hand while he had two fingers of his other hand on her throat, checking her pulse.

_At least the whelp has some sense,_ he thought.

Jack kneeled down and, bending over her face, put an ear to her mouth. He didn't have to strain to hear anything; he could feel her breath on his cheek. "She's breathing," he said.

Will breathed a sigh of relief and took his fingers off of her neck.

Jack sat back up and then put one arm underneath her knees and then his other under her head, and picked her up. With Will following behind, Jack carried the unconscious Evangeline to his temporary cabin. As he walked away, he called for the crew to carry on. Ana Maria was the only one who looked on in worry.

Will opened the doors to the cabin, allowing Jack to walk in with ease. He immediately took Evangeline and placed her carefully on the bed. He sat on the bed next to her, and then turned to Will. "Bring me a blanket," he said.

Will nodded, and then began to look in the various draws and cupboards for a dry blanket.

Deciding to check her pulse again, Jack put his index finger and middle finger on her neck. The contact caused Evangeline to shudder. She woke with a start and, upon seeing Jack hovering over her, she quickly sat up and retreated to the nearest corner.

This took him by surprise. "It's alright, love," he said, trying to reassure her. He noticed her shaking form, and then reached for her. When his hand was close to her shoulder, she flinched away. At this, Jack pulled his hand away slightly. He realized why she was shaking.

She was completely terrified.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Evangeline," he softly told her. "I promise."

Her body was still trembling, but she looked at Jack and nodded. Somehow, she knew he was right.

Jack reached for her, putting his two calloused hands on her shoulders. "It's alright, love. You're aboard a ship. You're not in that bloody asylum, and no one is going to hurt you."

Evangeline looked up at the captain, surprised at what he had said. Looking up at him, she could tell that he was truly sincere. And it seemed that she wasn't the only who was surprised.

_Where did that come from? _Jack wondered.

Will finally found a blanket and handed it to Jack, who took the liberty of wrapping it around her shaking form. This time she was shaking because she was cold. It seemed that his reassuring words had managed to melt her fear.

"There," Jack said with a smile. "Should warm you up in no time. Now stay in here, and get some rest, eh?"

Evangeline nodded. "Aye, Captain," she managed to say. She was surprised she was able to since her throat burned.

"I'll bring you some water," Will offered.

"Thank you. Both of you."

Both Will and Jack nodded, and headed out of the cabin. Jack returned to the helm, relieving Gibbs of the unfortunate task of wrestling the helm, and Will headed for the galley for a cup of water.

By the time he had returned to the cabin, Will found her leaning against the wall. The sway of the ship and the sound of the rain pelting the window sent Evangeline into a deep slumber.

* * *

A/N: I hope this entertains you guys for a while, because I will be busy getting those last chapters of my Kingdom Hearts story, _Re: Kingdom Hearts_, posted. But I promise to continue. I am also going to try and get a link for my deviantART account posted on my profile, so be looking for that. Um...what else...hmm. Oh! Don't forget to let me know if you're interested in wanting to know about my idea for another POTC fic. I won't start it for a while, but that doesn't mean I can't think about it :) Just PM me or let me know in your reviews. Don't forget to review, though. I love hearing from you, and your reviews bring me joy. And please, NO FLAMES! I laugh at them just as much as I laugh at Barbossa in his stupid, ridiculous wig in _On Stranger Tides_.

Until then, all my love to you guys! ~Xanthe


	5. Dead Men Tell No Tales

Author's Note: Well, I didn't get as many reviews as I would have liked to have gotten for that last chapter, but I'm still going to post this one anyway. I spent a lot of time thinking of the plot for this chapter…and it all started on a napkin in a Red Robin restaurant. Also, I spent more time on this chapter versus the last chapter of _Re: Kingdom Hearts_, which probably shouldn't have happened, but it did. Will you believe me if I told you I am I'm trying to postpone it as long as I can? No? Oh well…

Anyway, thanks to those who have taken the time to read this fic, favorite/alert/subscribe and review it! You guys are awesome. I have to thank my buddy and co-worker, Shelley, for taking the time to read the first part of the chapter and giving some input, with which I was ecstatic to get. She made my day when she did, and when she told me a story about her adventures as a make-up artist. Can you guess what movie she worked on? _Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl_. Can you guess who she met and held a conversation with while doing so? YES! None other than Johnny Depp himself. LUCKY! It totally made my day, and yes people, he really is as nice of a guy as they say he is! (Aside: she even got to work with Antonio Banderas on _Spy Kids_. Anyone else jealous? I know I am!)

Okay, I think I'm done rambling. Wait for it….yeah, I'm done XD Enjoy the chapter guys!

**Disclaimer: **As is an obvious fact, I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean. At all. If I did, I would be spending plenty of quality time with our dear Captain Sparrow. PLENTY.

* * *

**Chapter Five: **_**"Dead Men Tell No Tales"**_

Evangeline woke with a start, eyes wide and breathing heavily. She quickly looked around her and breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that she was still aboard the _Interceptor_.

_It's alright,_ she thought. _It was only a dream._

It didn't matter, though. No matter how many time she told herself that, she could still hear the screams of girls being tortured, being soaked in ice cold baths. She could still see their bodies writhing as they tried to fight their captors off.

Evangeline got up from the bed, pulling the blanket closer to her shaking form, and ignoring the cup of water that was left on the nightstand. She walked through the doors to the cabin and into the cool, misty night that surrounded the ship. There was a favorable wind, which she knew would please the captain. She knew he was in a hurry to get to their destination, but for what reason, she didn't know. She didn't even know where they were headed.

Evangeline walked over to the starboard rail and leaned against it, looking out to the water. She couldn't see much because of the fog, but that didn't stop her. She took a deep breath, and continued to look out towards the sea and enjoy the breeze.

She never noticed a pair of dark eyes watching her, dripping with curiosity.

Gibbs noticed Jack's wondering gaze, and said, "Cap'n?"

"Take the helm, Mr. Gibbs," was Jack's answer, handing the older pirate his compass.

"Sir?" Gibbs asked with concern.

"I'm turnin' in. Need me strength for tomorrow."

Gibbs nodded in understanding. Jack walked down the stairs and, instead of heading to the cabin, made his way to the starboard rail. As he got closer to where Evangeline was standing, he asked, "Couldn't sleep, Miss Turner?"

Evangeline turned to see who had interrupted her thoughts. When she realized it was only Jack, she shook her head. "No."

Jack saw her tired expression, a mixture of fear and disgust spreading across her pale features. All of a sudden, and for some unknown reason, he wished to know what she was thinking of. Jack stood next to her and leaned against the rail as well. "Anything you want to talk to ol' Jack about, eh?"

She shook her head and turned to look at the sea once more. "Just a bad dream."

Jack nodded. "It was about that bloody asylum, wasn't it?"

Evangeline slowly nodded. "I can still hear their screams in my head. Every time I close my eyes, I can see their convulsing bodies, covered in blood, slowly dying."

"Sounds more like a nightmare to me."

She could only nod in agreement. Out of nowhere, she said, "I know he told you."

"Who? What?"

"Gibbs. I know that he told about the asylum."

"Really?" Jack asked with a quirked eyebrow. "Care to enlighten me on how you arrived at that?"

A smile played at Evangeline's lips. "You mentioned it earlier."

"Did I now?"

"Yes."

"When?"

"When I came to." She turned her head so that she was facing him. "When I had passed out. I never mentioned it to anyone but Gibbs and Will. And if Will's smart enough, he kept his mouth shut."

"Ah," Jack said, holding up a finger and pointing it at her. "I believe you must take some of the blame, love."

Evangeline gave him a puzzled look. "What do you mean?"

Jack smiled. "Shouldn't talk about things like that out in the open. In broad daylight, as a matter of fact. You never know who might be listening."

She caught on quickly. "You were eavesdropping?"

Jack shrugged. "It's best if I know who my crewmen are. Or…crewwomen. Can't have another mutiny now, savvy?"

Evangeline looked at him with shocked eyes. "What?"

Jack's eyes widened as well. Realizing he had said too much already, he walked towards the cabin. Watching his retreating form, Evangeline quickly followed him.

"What do you mean?" she asked as soon as she was in the cabin with him. Jack shook his head rather quickly, his eyes never leaving the door. She turned around and quickly shut the double doors of the cabin. She then turned back and walked towards him as he shed his effects, hat, and coat. "What do you mean by 'another mutiny'?"

Jack sighed deeply. "You might want to sit down for this, love."

Evangeline gave him a puzzled look, but sat down nonetheless. Jack sat down right next to her on the bed. A little too close to her liking, so she slightly shifted away from him. Jack seemed confused by her action, but then he remembered Gibbs telling him of the ordeal with Starky.

_Of course she doesn't want you so close_, his inner voice stated.

_It'll take time, mate. She'll warm up to me…eventually._

Evangeline looked at Jack expectantly, waiting for him to begin his story. He coughed, reluctant to do so.

He did anyway.

"How much do you know about the _Black Pearl_?"

xxx

Evangeline looked at Jack, her eyes wide in shock and, dare she say, sadness. She didn't know much about the captain, but from what she had already seen, and just heard, he was different than what she expected. This was a man who had endured…who knew what it was like to be left behind.

"Jack," she said, haphazardly placing a hand on his shoulder. "That's terrible. I'm…I'm so sorry."

Jack looked at her, a smile playing at his lips as he hid the shudder her touch sent through his body. He was surprised that she called him by his first name instead of his title. "No matter. I'll have the _Pearl_ back in no time."

Evangeline gave him a small smile, and then pulled her hand away and put it on her lap. "I'm sure you will." She got up from her spot on the bed and walked towards the window on the opposite side of the cabin. She thought over everything he told her, taking it all in—the treasure of Hernán Cortés; the deal with Barbossa to give up the bearings to Isla de Muerta; the mutiny; the deal with Will to help him save his friend, Elizabeth. Then another thought occurred to her.

"Jack?"

"Yes, love?"

Even though she could feel his eyes on her, she continued to look out the window. "The reason you're helping Will…it's to get at Barbossa, isn't it?"

At that Jack's eyes went wide. Thankfully, she never noticed. "Why would I do that?"

Evangeline turned to Jack, who was looking at her with a furrowed brow, laced with confusion. "I'm not stupid, Jack. I'm smart enough to understand that when someone wrongs you, you want to get back at them in some manner."

"Do you know?"

"Yes. And don't worry. I won't tell Will."

Jack looked down at his nails as if they had suddenly become interesting. "And may I inquire as to why?"

"I think you already know."

Jack regarded what she said, and nodded. "Aye." He got up from the bed and started to walk toward her. "But, being family and all, I figured—"

Evangeline interrupted him. "Family doesn't abandon you. Family doesn't sell you out to the cruelties of the world."

"You seem very certain of that, love."

"I became certain of that two months ago." At the memory of Will's departure and of the asylum, Evangeline looked down at her feet, fighting back the tears threatening to fall.

Jack sensed her despair, and walked closer to her. She could feel his breath against her forehead, so she quickly looked up, fear creeping over her features. He inched back a little to give her some space and cleared his throat. "Well then," he said. "Now that you know my story, how's about you tell me yours, eh?"

She gave him a small smile. "Maybe some other time. I don't…I mean…it's just…"

"Too soon?" Jack asked, his eyebrows disappearing beneath his bandana.

Evangeline simply nodded. As if sensing it that it was time to leave, she said, "I better let you get some rest, Captain. You'll probably want your bed back."

Jack smirked. Gesturing towards the bed on the other side of the cabin. "I'd say there's plenty of room for the both of us," he said, his eyes dripping with mischief.

Evangeline's eyes went wide.

The pirate's expression fell. "Or not."

She quickly looked away from Jack, and managed to mutter out a "Good night, Captain!" before running out of the cabin. She left Jack staring after her, mouth gaping.

xxx

It was eerily quiet. Fog surrounded the ship as Jack steered it carefully through a series of shipwrecks, most likely made from the attempts of other sailors to get to Isla de Muerta. The entire crew was situated at the bow of the ship, looking out towards the wreckage. Up in the rigging above them, Cotton's parrot's squawking was the only thing that could be heard with the creaking of the ships.

"Dead men tell no tales," it squawked.

Evangeline looked out over the railing. Upon looking at the ships, she felt a chill go through her, thinking about how many sailors lost their lives going after the treasure of Hernán Cortés.

Gibbs couldn't have spoken her thoughts any sooner.

"Puts a chill in the bones how many honest sailors have been claimed by this passage."

Evangeline looked up at him, just in time to see Will give her a worried look. She quickly looked away, and walked towards some ropes to make sure they were tightened properly. Gibbs followed, and so did Will.

"How is it that Jack came by that compass?" she heard him ask.

"Not a lot's known about Jack Sparrow 'fore he shown up in Tortuga with a mind to go after the treasure of Isla de Muerta," Gibbs explained. "That was before I'd met him, back when he was captain of the _Black Pearl_." He pulled out his flask and took a swig of rum.

Evangeline looked up in time to see Will give him an incredulous look. "What?"

Gibbs nearly choked on rum.

Will looked towards Jack. "He failed to mention that."

Evangeline could see where this conversation was going, so she made her way to the helm. When she got there, she took a seat on the top step. She pulled her legs up to her chest and rested her chin on her knees. Evangeline watched Gibbs talk to her brother, and nearly laughed at the way Will imitated how Jack acted. She envied how easily Mr. Gibbs could talk to him even though he knew what he had done to her.

_How?_ she wondered. _How is it that he can look past what Will has done? How can I not look past it?_

She looked at Will, and then it occurred to her.

_What if…there was a good reason for leaving me behind? I wanted to go with him, and I didn't want to be left behind, but…what if?_

"Get any sleep, Miss Turner?"

Evangeline nearly jumped out of her skin when Jack's voice broke her from her thoughts. She looked up at the captain, and saw his curious expression.

She gave him a small smile, and answered "A little."

"You look it."

Now she gave him a puzzled look. Jack cleared his throat and then walked past her. She stared after him and, quite eagerly, got up from her spot on the stairs and followed him. She followed him as he walked up to Gibbs and Will, just as the younger of the two asked, "What did he use for rope?"

Both men looked up at Jack as he stopped in front of them. "Human hair," he said. "From my back."

Evangeline gave all three men a puzzled look before she focused her gaze on Jack's back.

_He doesn't really have…does he?_ she wondered. Evangeline stared at his back in a sort analytical and mesmerizing way. _It looks…strong. How could it…?_

Evangeline shook her head, clearing it of any other thoughts that might cross her mind. And just in time to hear Jack order, "Let go of the anchor!"

"Aye, Cap'n, aye!" the rest of the crew shouted.

"Young Mr. Turner and I are to go ashore."

Some of the crew members ran over to the starboard rail and began to lower down a long boat.

Gibbs trailed after him, followed closely by Evangeline and Will. "Cap'n," he asked with concern dripping in his tone. "What if the worst should happen?"

Jack looked at the older pirate over his shoulder and regarded him before catching a glimpse of Evangeline. "Keep to the Code."

Gibbs nodded. "Aye, the Code."

Will and Evangeline looked at each other, wondering what the two were talking about. The younger sibling shrugged. At that, Will climbed down the side of the ship and climbed into the long boat. Evangeline watched as he did so and instantly felt a pang of regret and sadness.

Jack walked up to her, preparing to climb down and join Will. She looked up in time to see the concerned expression on his face. _Why is he concerned?_

The pirate captain looked away from her, and turned to head down. Evangeline caught his arm to stop him.

"Captain," she said.

"Miss Turner?" he asked her, his eyebrows disappearing into his bandana.

"Be careful, and bring him back safely. Both of you. Please?"

Jack stared at her for a moment longer, a smile playing at his lips. "You have my word, love."

Evangeline let go of his arm, and he climbed down the side of the ship and into the long boat. As Jack sat down and grabbed the oars, he couldn't help but wonder at her show of concern for the well-being of not only her brother, but for him as well.

_Knew she would warm up to me_, he thought. _Didn't expect it that fast, though._

The young girl watched as they rowed away, wondering and, dare she do it, hoping that both would come back unharmed.

She nearly jumped when Gibbs walked up to her. Evangeline looked at him, and then back towards the long boat.

"What code are we to keep to if the worst should happen?" she asked him.

"Anyone who falls behind is left behind," Ana Maria said as she passed by.

* * *

A/N: I know it's short, but I thought it stopped at a good place. But I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless! So...please leave a review and let me know what you think. They make me a very happy camper! Please, this is my only payment! Oh, and no flames please!


	6. The Chase

Author's Note: So…how's everyone doing? Good, I hope. If not…well, hopefully this chapter will brighten your spirits! I didn't get in as far as I wanted to, so I had to adjust. But don't worry; Jack will be back next chapter ;) I apologize for it taking a while, though. I got sick, went to work, and had a job interview for a job I didn't get :/ Oh well…

I want to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter: **Pizzapig, xxz0eyxx, JDLuvSQEE, 2bethz2, Upisdowngirl, dionne dance, linalove **(_Thank you for taking the time to read this fic, too. You have no idea how excited I was to see your review in my email alert!_)**, niki jinx, **and **cutegirl-ruwi**. You guys are amazing, and awesome, and…and…you just rock, okay?

Now that that's out of the way, who's ready for some swashbuckling?

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean. Nope. Not at all. Wish I did, but I don't.

* * *

**Chapter Six: The Chase**

Evangeline had decided to keep herself busy with whatever she could, whether it was scrubbing the deck again or making sure the lines were secure. She tried to distract herself, to keep herself from worrying about Will and Jack. But the more she tried, the harder it was to ignore her gut feeling—something was going to happen in there, and that's why they were to stick to the Code.

Ana Maria's words still hung in the air around her. _Any man who falls behind is left behind_.

_What if Will gets left behind? _ she wondered. _Then I would never know if even gave me a moment's thought while he was away. But, then again…what if Jack gets left behind?_

At that last thought, she shook her head. _What am I doing? I'm worried about a man I don't really know, who has been known to have a woman in every port. I shouldn't be worried about him. He can take care of himself, I'm sure. He's a pirate after all._

She continued to look around for things to do, and, not really paying attention to anything else, nearly ran into someone—that someone being Ana Maria.

"Watch where you're going!" she hissed.

"I'm sorry," Evangeline said. "I didn't mean to bump into you like that. I really didn't."

Realizing who it was that bumped into her, Ana Maria softened up. "It's alright, Evangeline. I'm sorry I snapped at you. I thought…"

"I was one of the others?"

"Aye."

"It's okay," the girl said with a small smile. "I'm used to being ignored."

"Your brother?" Ana Maria asked in understanding.

Evangeline nodded.

Ana Maria sighed. "Evangeline, you're going to have to tell him. If you don't, how will you expect him to realize what he did wrong?"

"I know, it's just…I'm not sure how to tell Will. It's not exactly easy to talk about." At that, the girl looked towards her boots.

"Aye, but you need to. Would it help if I were there?"

"Please."

Ana Maria smiled. "I will. And don't worry about the captain."

Evangeline looked up at her. "W-why would I be worried about the captain?"

"Call it intuition. You're worried about him, and you shouldn't. He's good at finding ways out of situations."

The girl nodded. "I see."

"So…when are you gonna tell him about…?" Ana Maria trailed off as the sound of a gathering reached their ears. The commotion was coming from the starboard rail.

Both joined the crew, Evangeline pushing her way through to the front. When she eventually did, she stood close to Gibbs, her eyes locking with a pair of brown ones. And not the pair that she was hoping for. These eyes were attached to that of a girl close to her own age, with honey-brown, shoulder-length hair wearing a maroon gown.

"Not more pirates," the other girl said in dismay.

Gibbs step forward a little, getting closer to the girl. "Welcome aboard, Miss Elizabeth," he said to her.

"Mr. Gibbs?" Elizabeth asked.

_They know each other?_ Evangeline wondered.

At that moment, Will had climbed aboard. Evangeline smiled a little, seeing that her brother made it back safely. But she realized that there was one other that was missing.

_Wait, where's…?_

"Eh, boy," Gibbs said to Will. "Where be Jack?"

Elizabeth seemed to be irate about this. "Jack?" she asked, looking at Will. "Jack Sparrow?"

_What? She didn't know?_ Evangeline wondered. She looked towards Gibbs. He seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"He fell behind," was Will's mere answer as he looked to Gibbs, and then guided Elizabeth toward the hold.

Evangeline's gaze followed them until they disappeared, and then fell to the rest of the crew. She saw Gibbs' crestfallen expression, and immediately what he was going to say. He looked to the somewhat-saddened crew and shouted, "Keep to the Code!"

Evangeline walked over to the rail and looked out toward Isla de Muerta. She barely heard Ana Maria shouting orders to the crew as a sudden wave of fear, anger, and ,dare she say, sadness overcome her.

_There goes the one person who ever truly understood me_, she thought. _The one person who knew what it felt like to be abandoned. Will the odds ever be in my favor?_

She shook her head, becoming fearful of her own thoughts. _What's the matter with me? I'm still worried about him! I don't know if he is as good a man as I've led myself to believe, and if he is, I'll never know._ Another thought occurred to her, but she shook it off, afraid to think that about the captain.

_But what about the dream?_

Evangeline hadn't thought about the dream she had of Jack. But she didn't have to. Thankfully, Gibbs walked up to her, putting a hand on her shoulder and interrupting her thoughts. "Give us a hand with the boat," he said to her.

Evangeline nodded, grabbing hold of a rope and pulling on it, slowly pulling the rowboat from the water and putting it back on the ship. As they put it in its proper place, they set to loosening the sails so as to catch the wind and get away from the island as quickly as they could.

As the island grew smaller, Evangeline couldn't stop the feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach. A feeling that she had hoped she would never feel again. The thought she had tried to block ran through her mind like a battery ram.

_I can't have fallen for him…can I?_

xxx

The fog had cleared up, allowing the sun to shine on everyone aboard the _Interceptor._ A favorable wind had picked up and they were far away from Isla de Muerta. Evangeline and Gibbs joined the newly appointed captain of the _Interceptor_, thanks to Will, at the helm, deciding on what their next plan of action.

"So, what happens now?" Evangeline asked.

Gibbs gave her a look of uncertainty. It seems that the loss of his good friend has shaken him up a bit as well. But he was one to follow orders, so he gave her the best answer he could come up with. "I suppose we drop yer brother and Miss Elizabeth off at Port Royal," he said, looking towards Ana Maria as well. "Then we make a break for it."

Evangeline nodded slowly. The thought of her brother being…_infatuated_ with Elizabeth sent a pang of jealousy through her. She knew she shouldn't feel that way, but he was her big brother. Was he too busy worrying over the welfare of Miss Swann to even bother with his little sister? Why couldn't he take the time to spend time with her instead?

_If she's the Governor's daughter, then yeah, he would be_, Evangeline's rational mind told her. _And you practically shut the poor guy out every time he came close to you._

Ana Maria must have sensed her inner turmoil, because she asked, "What are you going to do?"

Evangeline looked up to make eye contact with the only other person, besides Gibbs and Jack, who understood what she was going through. "I-I don't know," she answered honestly. "I guess I'll…" She trailed off, not able to finish because of what she saw coming from behind them.

Off in the distance, surrounded by an unnatural and ghostly fog, was a ship with black sails. Evangeline only knew one ship by that description, and she felt the pang of dread.

The_ Black Pearl_ was on their stern…and gaining.

_Bugger!_ she thought.

"What's the matter?" Ana Maria asked.

Evangeline pointed in the direction of the pirate ship. "The _Black Pearl_…is currently tailing us."

Gibbs and Ana Maria looked behind them in the direction of the _Pearl_, and then faced each other.

"What are we going to do?" Evangeline asked.

"Outrun them as much as we can," Ana Maria said.

Gibbs started to bark orders, and Evangeline ran to help the crew carry them out. She'd be damned if she was going to allow them to overtake them. The idea of being captured and taken prisoner, or killed, didn't bode well with her at all.

Half an hour later, they had managed to get further away from the ghost ship, but it didn't seemed to last very long. No more wind could be coaxed into the sails.

By this time, Elizabeth had managed to emerge from the hold and made her way towards the helm, stopping at the stairs.

"Hands aloft to loose ta'gallants!" Gibbs shouted. "With this dead wind astern, she'll carry every sail we've got!"

"What's happening?" Elizabeth asked, shouting over the commotion on deck.

"The _Black Pearl_," Evangeline said. "She's gaining on us."

Elizabeth looked over the rail, as if she didn't believe her. This irked Evangeline to no end. The honeyed –brunette began to climb the stairs, saying, "But this is the fastest ship in the Caribbean!"

"You can tell them that," Ana Maria said bitterly. "After they've caught us."

Gibbs joined us after shouting more orders and Elizabeth walked up closer to the helm. "We're shallower on the draft, right?" she asked.

"Aye," said a surprise Ana Maria.

"Well, then can't we lose them amongst those shoals?" She pointed out toward a group of indistinct shapes that could be assumed to be a group of islands. Gibbs and Evangeline looked to where she was pointing.

Understanding what she was saying, Gibbs turned to Ana Maria and said, "We don't have to outrun them long. Just long enough."

"Lighten the ship!" Ana Maria shouted to the crew. "Stem to stern!"

"Anything we can afford to lose, see that it's lost," he added.

Evangeline and Gibbs joined the rest of the crew in their mad dash to lighten the ship. They found whatever they could find and tossed it overboard. But it didn't seem to be working. When Gibbs and Evangeline made it back to the helm, the _Pearl_ was closer than before.

"No," Evangeline whispered.

Ana Maria looked behind them. "It was a good plan," she admitted to Elizabeth. "Up 'til now."

At the sound of footsteps on the stairs, Evangeline turned to see that Will had joined them at the helm.

"Gibbs, we have to make a stand," he said. "We must fight!"

Nobody made to move. They only stared at Will.

"Load the guns!"

"With what?" Ana Maria challenged him.

"Anything," Will said. "Everything!" Looking to Gibbs, he added, "Anything we have left."

Gibbs looked at Evangeline, who had looked back towards the _Pearl_. He saw the look on her face, a look that he had never seen on her face before. A look of hope, longing, and sadness. He hoped he would never have to see that look again.

Moving to face the crew, he shouted, "Load the guns! Case shot and langrage! Nails and crushed glass! With a will!"

Hearing what Gibbs had said, Evangeline quickly turned her head and made eye contact with the older pirate. It was that connection they made that let him answer her silent 'thank you' with a curt nod. She looked over to Will, giving him a small smile and walked over to him when Gibbs had left to help load the cannons. "Thank you," she whispered.

Will nodded. "You're welcome."

Evangeline smiled again. She moved to hug him, but decided against it. She knew that Elizabeth was watching, but wasn't sure if Will had told her that she was his sister. She decided to play it safe, so she patted him on the shoulder and then looked off towards the oncoming pirate ship.

She wasn't sure how she felt about the situation. Evangeline was terrified because she had never been in this kind of situation, but she was relieved that they were going to take a stand; she didn't feel that running away from something was the answer. Maybe she felt relieved because she somehow knew that Jack was on that ship. But then why would she feel that way?

Evangeline was still confused on how she felt about Jack. Did she really fall for him? Or was it the fact that he understood what it was like to be left behind? She hardly thought that she had feelings for him. _I mean…I had only just met the man yesterday morning_, she thought. _How can I feel that way towards him in that short amount of time?_

_**Sometimes, that's all it takes**_, a voice in the back of her mind stated.

"Huh?" she wondered out loud. She looked around her, but no one was close enough to her to have spoken so low in her ear. She shook her head, and turned away from the ever-closer _Black Pearl_.

_Great_, Evangeline thought. _I've been stuck in an asylum for two months, and now I'm starting to hear voices in my head. Maybe…I really am mental._

Gibbs broke her out of her thoughts, thankfully. "The _Pearl_'s goin' to luff up on our port quarter!" he stated, looking to the four of them left in the helm. "She'll rake us without ever presenting a target!"

Looking to Ana Maria, Elizabeth said, "Lower the anchor on the right side."

The newly appointed captain gave her a puzzled look.

Elizabeth looked to Gibbs this time. "On the starboard side!"

Seeming to catch on to what she had planned, he added, "It certainly has the element of surprise."

"You're daft lady!" Ana Maria exclaimed. "You both are!"

Evangeline shot her a glare, which the captain ignored.

"Daft like Jack," Gibbs commented enthusiastically. He walked over to the rail and shouted to the crew, "Lower the starboard anchor!"

Everyone gave him incredulous looks, as if he himself had gone 'round the bend.

"Do it, you gobs!" he reinforced. "Or it's you we'll load into the cannons!"

They did as they were told. In no time, the anchor was lowered and the _Interceptor_ lurched and creaked because of the strain being put on it. Evangeline looked to Ana Maria, who still had a grip on the wheel, and said, "Let go!" She did just that, and watched the wheel right itself quite vigorously. The ship turned to its right rather quickly. While this happened, everyone braced themselves for the attack.

Evangeline stood at the starboard rail next to Elizabeth, with Gibbs in between them. She kept her hand on her sword, watching as the _Black Pearl_ pulled alongside the _Interceptor_. Will walked up to her and handed her a rifle. She looked up at him, her eyes dripping with worry and confusion.

Will put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Just aim and shoot," he said. "After you take the shot, just put the powder in and stick the baton through the barrel to pack it in. Got it?"

Evangeline, as scared as she was, managed a small smile and nodded.

Will returned the smile. "Just stay close to me or Gibbs, and be careful."

Evangeline had to fight back the tears that were forming. Will was making the effort to make amends with her, and she hadn't even given him forgiveness. He was trying to earn it.

She had no time to dwell on it. By now, both ships were board on board, the hatches for the loaded cannons raised.

"Now!" Will gave the order.

"FIRE ALL!" Elizabeth shouted.

Evangeline raised her firearm, aimed, and did just that. She pulled the trigger just as the cannons were fired.

All hell had broken loose.

* * *

A/N: GAH! Cliffhanger, I know, but it had to be done. I wanted to go further than that, but then the chapter would be EXTREMELY long. So I stopped right before the battle, and for good reason. Trust me, it will be worth it in the end. And I hope I'm not rushing things along with Evangeline and Jack. I want to take my time doing so, mainly because we all know how Jack can be and I think it will be better that way. If you think I am, let me know! I'm open to suggestions!

Well, thanks for taking the time to read this chapter. But I still wish to know your thoughts, so if you please drop off a line or two by pressing that Review button at the bottom, it would make me extremely happy! They motivate me and they're really my only payment.

~Xanthe


	7. Rumrunner's Isle--A Past Revealed

Author's Note: Hey guys! I have another chapter for you! This is a pretty long chapter, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. I believe it answers some questions you guys may have had. Especially you **dionne dance**.

Thank you to those of you who have read and reviewed, as well as those of you who have added the story to their favorites/alerts. A huge thank you to **linalove, dionne dance, 19Gaara19, xxz0eyxx, Upisdowngirl, **and **Pizzapig**for your lovely reviews. You're awesome!

Without further ado, here's chapter seven. Hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean. Sad, but true. I'd have a lot of fun if I did, though.

* * *

**Chapter Seven: Rumrunner's Isle—A Past Revealed**

She couldn't imagine how she had gotten into that situation. The only thing that could really be heard were the screams of men as they've been shot down, the sounds of cannons being fired at will, the sound of wood cracking due to the force of the blows by cannonballs. Despite how terrified she was at that moment, Evangeline held back the screams she wanted desperately to release. Bullets whizzed past her, causing her to flinch, knowing that eventually her luck would run out and she would take a hit. The only thing keeping her as calm as she could possibly in this situation was the knowledge that she had her brother near her, protecting her to the best of his ability. She also had Gibbs, who she knew was protecting her as a father protects his daughter.

Evangeline was reloading her rifle when the older pirate spoke up, talking to Elizabeth. "We could use a few more ideas, lass!"

"Your turn!" she shouted, pushing a bullet into the firearm with a baton.

Will and Evangeline took another shot at the crew of the _Black Pearl_, listening to the conversation.

"We need us a devil's dowry," Gibbs said.

"What do you suggest?" Evangeline asked.

The cock of a pistol so close to them drew their attention to Elizabeth's direction. Ana Maria had a pistol to her temple, a hold on her arm. She was clearly fed up with her. "We'll give 'em her!" she exclaimed.

Not if Will had anything to say about that. "She's not what they're after," he told Ana Maria.

Elizabeth, realizing what he was talking about, grabbed for something at her neck. Nothing was there, so she looked to Will with wide eyes and said, "The medallion!"

_Medallion?_ Evangeline wondered. _What are they talking about—?_

Then it hit her. The legend of the Aztec gold, the curse, everything that Jack had told her the night before was coming back to her. The whole reason Jack had lost his ship and the reason Elizabeth had been taken from Port Royal in the first place was because of the treasure. It was the reason they were in this mess now.

Before Evangeline could ask him any questions, Will ran off in the direction of the hold. Along with Gibbs and Elizabeth, she continued to fight off the enemy pirates as they boarded the _Interceptor_. As they piled onto the deck and approached their little group, Evangeline stood up and used the last bullet she had just loaded into the firearm, hitting one as they ran towards them. She then used it as a staff and blocked any attacks that came her way. When she was tired of said firearm, she threw it to the side and withdrew her sword, the sword her former shipmates had given her not but four days ago. She fought as hard as she could, using every technique that Gibbs, Porthos, and Rhodes had taught her. Evangeline was eventually faced with a towering pirate, who looked just as strong as he was intimidating. The markings on the dark skin around his eyes didn't help much with the situation.

Evangeline plucked up what courage she could as the brute made his way towards her, cutlass raised. As he brought it down, she raised hers to parry his attack. She tried to attack, but found it hard to do so. He was more experienced than she was, and a lot stronger too. And even though she had been out of the asylum for a month, been brought to what would be considered normal health, she was still weak.

So it was no surprise when she was knocked to the ground, her head being hit against the mast, her world going black. And she could feel rough hands grab her.

xxx

"That's not very nice," Jack stated, holding one of Barbossa's men from causing Elizabeth any damage.

With the sailor being distracted, Elizabeth took the opportunity to elbow him in the jaw, the blow causing him to go over the rail and into the water below. Another on the _Black Pearl_ shot at them, but missed since they ducked out of harm's way.

"Where's the medallion?" Jack asked.

"Wretch!" Elizabeth exclaimed as she attempted to back hand him. Attempted meaning he caught a hold of her hand before she could.

Seeing the piece of cloth wrapped around said hand, Jack said, "Ah, where is dear William?"

Elizabeth looked away from him and in the direction of the hold. "Will," she whispered. With that, she ran off to help him.

Jack quickly looked around at the battle going on. _All this for a bloody medallion_, he thought. He looked on as he saw his own crew being taken over to the _Pearl_, and, for some reason beyond him, his eyes searched the deck for long, black hair and deep blue eyes.

_Where is she?_

It was in that second, when he looked over towards _his_ ship that he saw Bo'sun carrying Evangeline across the broken mast of the _Interceptor_. "Bugger!" he muttered.

It was also in that moment that he caught the glimpse of something hairy holding onto something shiny. Barbossa's monkey had the medallion.

"Monkey!" he shouted, crawling after the primate. He scattered across the broken mast to grab it, but was disappointed to see that the monkey was faster, and the medallion was now in Barbossa's hand once more.

"Thank ye, Jack," Barbossa said, looking at the younger pirate.

"You're welcome," Jack replied with hidden distain.

"Not you. We named the monkey Jack."

Jack gave him a silent "Ah."

"Gents, our hope is restored!"

_Not if I have a say_, was Jack's only thought as he was dragged onto the _Pearl_ once more.

xxx

Evangeline's eyes fluttered open. Her head was pounding from the blow she had taken, and when she tried to raise her hand to the slowly growing bump, she found that she couldn't. She had been tied to the mast with the rest of the crew of the _Interceptor_.

_Oh no,_ she thought. _We've been overtaken._

Evangeline looked around to see who had survived. She breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed that she was standing, or rather tied up, next to Gibbs and Elizabeth. But the more she looked around, the more she realized there was one face that was missing.

_Where's Will?_

Her thoughts were broken when a short and stout half bald pirate, with pistol in hand, shouted, "Any of you so much as thinks 'Parley', I'll 'ave your guts for garters."

As he passed by them, Elizabeth lifted the rope that had them tied to the mast and slipped under, walking up to Barbossa. Evangeline also took the opportunity to escape their confines, but was stopped when she was grabbed by the stout pirate's skinny companion. She struggled to get out of his grip, but stopped when she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure. There, standing a few feet from her was Jack.

The pirate detaining her didn't seem to notice, because at that moment the _Interceptor_ had exploded into different pieces. And it was then that Evangeline realized where her brother was.

_He was still on that ship._

Evangeline began to struggle against the pirate again, trying to get to the man who had just killed her only family. She was still too weak from her head wound, so she wasn't able to get to Barbossa. But Elizabeth did.

"Stop it! Just stop it!" she screeched as she hit her fists against the pirate captain. However, he grabbed a hold of her hair and pushed her away from him enough so that he could see her face.

"Welcome back, Miss," he said. "Ye took advantage of our hospitality last time. It holds fair now ye return the favor." With that, Barbossa threw Elizabeth into a throng of pirates, who grabbed at her.

She screamed, and it was that scream that set Evangeline off, causing her to struggle even more. It was a scream she knew all too well, a scream that echoed in her memories. Evangeline became frantic, trying to break free of the pirate's grip. When he tightened his hands around her arms, she struggled more, and began screaming herself.

"Let me go!" she screamed. "Please, let me go!"

Jack watched her from his spot on the deck, growing more worried about the poor girl. Because he knew why she was struggling. He knew why she screamed. He moved to attempt to rip her away from the pirate, who he knew as Ragetti, but he was stopped by the pirate next to him.

_Damn you, Koehler_, he thought.

Before he could do anything about it, Will had climbed up onto the railing and made his presence known. "Barbossa!" he shouted.

Everyone turned to the newcomer, including the pirates who were trying to grope Elizabeth. Evangeline looked up as soon as Ragetti had loosened his grip, her face stained with tears.

"Will," she barely whispered.

Will jumped from the rail and grabbed a hold of Jack's pistol and cocked it, aiming at Barbossa. "The girls go free."

"What's in yer head, boy?" Barbossa asked, walking up to him.

"They go free."

Challenging him, Barbossa pointed out, "You've only got one shot, and we can't die."

Will took a moment to contemplate that detail. Off to the side, he noticed Jack look at him and say, under his breath, "Don't do anything stupid."

It was then that Will remembered one small detail that could save them all. Well, those that mattered to him. He jumped back onto the rail, still pointing the pistol at the older pirate. "You can't," he said. He pointed the muzzle under his chin. "I can."

Elizabeth struggled against the pirates. Evangeline stood still, shocked at the fact her brother was alive. Jack grimaced and muttered, "Like that."

Barbossa had heard Jack. He looked at him and then at Will. "Who are you?"

Jack interfered. Stepping away from Koehler, he jogged in front his former first mate and said, "No one. He's no one. A distant cousin of my aunt's nephew twice removed. Lovely singing voice, though. Eunuch."

Evangeline was shocked at what Jack was doing. _Is this part of his plan?_ she wondered. _Or is he really trying to keep Will out of trouble?_

"My name is William Turner," Will said, contradicting Jack's statement. "My father was Bootstrap Bill Turner. His blood runs in my veins."

Jack looked down and walked back over to his spot.

"He's a spittin' image of ol' Bootstrap Bill," Ragetti called out, pointing at Will. "Come back to haunt us!"

_Bootstrap Bill?_ Evangeline wondered. _My father…was a pirate?_

"On my word, do as I say," Will said. "Or I'll pull this trigger and be lost to Davy Jones' Locker!"

"Name yer terms, Mister Turner," Barbossa said.

"Elizabeth and Evangeline go free!"

Barbossa rolled his eyes. "Yes, we know that one. Anything else?"

Jack quietly gestured to himself, as if cueing to Will he needed to be let go too. Will ignored him. "And the crew," he said. "The crew are not to be harmed."

Barbossa looked from the tied up crew members and then to Jack, who was still gesturing to Will that he needed to be released as well. Barbossa couldn't help but smirk. Looking back to Will, he said, "Agreed."

xxx

_I don't think this is what Will had in mind_, was all Evangeline could think. There she stood, hands tied in front, being held against Barbossa as the rest of his crew had their swords drawn and were blocking Elizabeth from the path back towards the ship. So there she stood, holding her gown up just a bit so she wasn't tripping on it as she was walking the plank. In the distance, one could make out a tiny island.

There was a small commotion taking place behind them. Barbossa turned to see what was going on, so Evangeline was able to get a good look at the furious expression gracing her brother's features. "Barbossa, you lying bastard!" he shouted. "You swore they'd go free!"

"Don't darn impugn me honor, boy!" Barbossa said. "I agreed they'd go free, but it was you who failed to specify when or where." He added a cruel laugh to his statement, and Will was gagged once again.

Barbossa, still keeping a firm grip on Evangeline, looked back towards Elizabeth and called out, "Though it seem a shame to lose something so fine, don't it lads?"

There was laughter, and a very irate Elizabeth looked on at all of them with distain.

"So I'll be havin' that dress back before you go."

If looks could kill, the look Elizabeth had given the pirate captain could have killed him a thousand times over, if he could die. She quickly shed off the maroon gown, leaving herself in only a shift, and threw it at Barbossa. "It goes with your black heart."

He caught the dress with one hand. "It's still warm," he said, and then threw it towards his men.

Elizabeth walked towards the end of the plank and looked down towards the water. She then looked up and toward Will. She was stalling, and Bo'sun didn't like it.

"Too long!" he exclaimed, and shook the plank with his foot. This caused Elizabeth to fall off and into the water. Every enemy pirate burst into laughter.

Now that there was no one on the plank, it was Evangeline's turn. Barbossa gently shoved her on, with which she took steady steps as she made her way across. She looked over toward Jack's crew, making eye contact with Gibbs. She mouthed a silent "Thank you" to him. He nodded to her, as if he was trying to tell her everything would be fine. He knew she was scared and needed some reassurance.

Barbossa broke their silent conversation. "I'm wonderin' if we shouldn't just keep ye here with us, Miss…?"

Bitterly, Evangeline said, "I don't think I owe you the pleasure of knowing my name fully, sir."

"Well, we know it's Evangeline, to be sure. Such a pretty name for a strumpet."

What fear she did have melted to give way to anger. She turned to fully face Barbossa, her eyes filled with a raging fire. "I am no such thing!"

"Really now? I find that hard to believe with you bein' in the company of Sparrow. Ye realize who he is?"

At this point, Jack's blood was boiling. Was that how Barbossa saw him? No one seemed to notice, but the only thing he could really do at that point was glare at the traitorous pirate. _He's has the nerve to call me girl a whore? Wait…me girl?_

"I'm well aware of that, _Captain_ Barbossa, but that doesn't make me a whore."

"Well, as I said before, 'tis a shame to lose somethin' so fine," Barbossa said with a smirk.

If Jack wasn't being held back by former crewmates, he would have taught Barbossa a lesson in how to handle a woman. But he didn't have to worry about that. Evangeline walked up to him and punched him square in the jaw with her bound fists. You could hear stifled chuckles coming from those tied to the mast. Even Jack had to fight the urge to laugh.

But this didn't make Barbossa happy. Not one bit. With an angered look, he took a step toward her, arm outstretched to grab her and pull her back onto the ship. Seeing the look on his face, she became terrified once again and backed away from him. She wasn't watching where she was stepping, so it came as a bit of a surprise when she slipped and plummeted down to the water below. She wasn't able to take a deep breath before hit the water, so as soon she broke the surface, she took in a massive amount of water. She shot back up to the surface as fast as she could, coughing up water as she did. When she felt that she could breathe again and didn't cause her pain, she slowly made her way to shore.

It was difficult, to be sure, because her hands were tied. But they were tied in front of her, so it was a little bit easier. Evangeline was only a few yards away from the island Barbossa left them at when she felt something tug at the leg of her trousers. She turned to see what it was, and came face to face with Jack.

"Jack?" she asked.

He didn't answer her. He only grabbed a hold of her hands and cut the rope binding them together with his sword. He threw the rope away from them and then keeping a grip on one of her hands, led her to shore. They had joined Elizabeth on the beach, and looked back out to sea. They could make out the _Black Pearl_ sailing away, stranding them on that tiny island.

"That's the second time I've had to watch that man sail away in my ship," Jack said.

Elizabeth walked away from them, most likely to take a walk around the island and dry off, while Jack and Evangeline walked further away from the waves crashing on the beach. As soon as she was, Evangeline sat down and drew her knees to her chest. She looked out towards the waves as they crashed onto the shore, watched as the seagulls flew by. She couldn't help but think about what had happened throughout the day, the way she felt. Memories of the asylum and the night Starky "marooned" her within swimming distance of Tortuga flooded her mind. They were the last things she wanted to think about, but the way she had been treated didn't help any.

Evangeline was thrown from her train of thought when she heard something metal hit the sand next to her. She looked up just in time to watch Jack head for the forest behind them, stripping himself to just his shirt and trousers. She looked away before he could catch her watching, and just took to looking at the effects he had dropped next to her. When she thought he had gone into the forest, she took the liberty of gathering his things and putting them next to his effects. That's when she noticed the hole in his vest.

_Did he even notice?_ she wondered.

Evangeline carefully put her hand in the pocket of her vest and, surprisingly enough, found her needle and some thread. She didn't know if it would still be there, considering all of the strenuous activities she had been doing. So, she sat down in the sand and began to mend the vest. She had put all her concentration into the vest that she didn't notice when Jack had returned with three tree limbs.

"What are you doing?" he asked her.

Without looking at him, she said, "What's it look like? I'm fixing the hole in your vest."

"Oh. Never even noticed." Jack walked up next to her and shoved the sticks into the sand. He then set about putting his boots upside down on two of them, and hanging his other items on the third. He then sat down and began to pull his pistol apart.

Finished with the mending, Evangeline handed him his vest. "Here you go."

Jack took it from her, his fingers barely brushing against hers. "Thank you," he said.

She gave him a small smile. "You're welcome."

Evangeline watched him as he cleaned his pistol and salvaged the one bullet he had. She was rather curious about it, but never asked him about it, figuring he wanted to concentrate. The silence went on for about twenty minutes before Jack broke the silence.

"You're awfully quiet, love," he said.

"I figured you would want some quiet considering you concentrating on something at the moment."

He paused in his actions for a moment to look at her, giving her a slight smirk. "I don't mind conversation."

_Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask him now, huh? _she thought.

"Why are you saving that one shot? Why not just use a new one?"

At first, Jack's brow furrowed in confusion. _Doesn't she know?_ he wondered. But realizing that she was generally curious, and confused, he said, "When a pirate is marooned on an island, he is given a pistol with a single shot, savvy?"

Evangeline nodded in understanding. "So that he can use it as an escape, so to speak."

"You catch on quick, love."

"I suppose so."

"And I'm saving it for the opportune moment."

"And it hasn't come up yet?"

"On the nose once again," Jack said.

Evangeline nodded. She didn't say anything more, and neither did he. They sat there for a moment before the silence became unbearable for either of them. Only this time, Evangeline was the first to speak.

"My husband," she had said.

"What?" Jack asked, confused.

"You had asked me about my story, when we were talking that night. It involves my…late husband."

Jack stopped what he was doing and looked to her. _Her late husband?_ he wondered. He was curious now, and had his full attention. "What happened?"

"It's a long story," she said. "It technically starts after Will had left."

"I'm all ears, love."

Evangeline looked at Jack, thinking that maybe he was just pretending to be interested to please her. But when she looked at him, really looked into his eyes, she could see general curiosity and concern. He seemed that he was actually interested. She took a deep breath, and began.

"Well, after our mother had died, and after Will had left, I was out on the streets to fend for myself. I was eventually able to find work with a seamstress, and made what living I could. It wasn't much, but I was able to get by. Around my thirteenth birthday, a wealthy family had visited the shop and, well, I suppose they felt sorry for me, and took me in as their own. The woman told me it was because she could not have children. I didn't mind, though."

"You didn't?"

"No, because I had someone to care for me. Then came the day they decided that I needed to find a proper husband, and have my own family."

"And this is where your husband comes in?" It was more of a statement than a question.

Evangeline nodded. "A lord. They thought he was perfect. Lord Sean Flavisham of the East India Trading Company."

Jack's eyes widened. "The East India Trading Company, you say?"

"Yes. I wasn't much for being married. But, as always, no one cared for my opinion in the matter. We had only known each other for three weeks when he asked for my hand. At that point, he was…tolerable. I thought, maybe, just maybe, I could learn to love him."

"But you didn't."

Evangeline shook her head and released a shaky breath. "The first two weeks had been fine. We hardly saw each other really, and when we did it was for dinner parties or when he came home from the office. But on the third week…" She trailed off, as if she didn't want to continue. As if the memory was too painful. And it was.

Jack grew concerned for her silence, and urged her to continue, leaving room for a little hope that she would. "What happened, darlin'?"

"Sean had come to me telling me that he wanted to have a family, to have children. I told him I wasn't ready, and he seemed fine with that."

"But he wasn't," Jack guessed.

"Two days later, he came home drunk. I could smell whiskey on his breath, on his clothes. He demanded that we…consummate our marriage like we should have on our wedding night. I still refused. And because of that he…he…beat me."

Anger boiled inside Jack. His grip on his pistol tightened, and he suddenly wished that he had a second shot.

"This happened more than once. And I was the only one who really knew what kind of man Lord Flavisham was. Then…one night…he came home completely drunk. He caught me trying to escape the house through the kitchen window. He had every exit locked during the day, every window as well. He called me a whore and beat me harder than he ever had. He said he would get what he wanted, and then he…he…then he…" Evangeline trailed off, choking on the sobs she was desperately trying to fight back, but she couldn't. Tears started to stream down her face as she finished her thought. "He tried to force himself on me."

As she cried, Jack got up from his spot and came to sit next to her. Gingerly, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug, hoping to bring her some comfort. Surprising himself, he didn't seem to mind that she cried into his chest. In fact, she seemed to fit perfectly in his arms.

_Wait, why am I thinking that?_ he thought. _Why don't I mind a woman crying on me?_ Jack was confused by his own thoughts, but was quickly rid of them when another thought occurred to him. "Did he succeed?"

He could feel her head shake against his chest. She sniffed, and said, "No. I…I wouldn't let him. We were in the kitchen…and…well, I grabbed a hold of a kitchen knife and…stabbed him in the shoulder to get off me. Some soldiers must have heard the commotion, because they came bursting in and detained me. Sean…he…yelled at me…called me a lunatic and said that I had gone mad…that I had been for some time now and that I needed to be put somewhere where I wouldn't harm myself or others. And they believed him."

"And then they put you in that asylum."

Evangeline nodded.

"What happened to him that made him your late husband, I wonder?"

She took a deep breath, and sniffed again, her tears finally subsiding. "About two weeks after I was admitted, his ship was attacked by pirates. He never made it. I heard it from some of the orderlies, and then from the head doctor at Bethlehem. I felt so relieved that I laughed. I couldn't help it. They thought I was truly mad at that point, so they kept me there. I was there for two months before I escaped. Now here I am."

"Trapped on an island with a pirate," Jack pointed out, trying to lighten the mood.

"Better than being in a padded room."

They stayed like that for a while, Jack just holding Evangeline. And it was the safest she had ever felt. It felt right to have his arms wrapped around her, a comforting hand rubbing her back. It reminded her of happier times, when her mother used to comfort her whenever she was scared.

_Maybe,_ she thought. _Just maybe, I can trust Jack. Just maybe._

With a small smile plastered to her face, she drifted off into a deep and safe sleep. And Jack didn't mind that she did.

When Evangeline woke up about half an hour later, she found that she was alone. She sat up and looked around to see where Jack could have gone, but didn't have to wonder for long. Jack was walking back towards her with Elizabeth in tow. Before he had a chance to sit down, she had caught up with him and asked, "So, is there any truth to the other stories?"

Evangeline was confused, until she realized she had woken up in the middle of one of their conversations. So, she just listened on.

"Truth?" Jack questioned. At that, he pulled back the sleeve on his left arm to show that there was a ghastly scare running up his arm, showed her his pirate brand on his right, and then showed off the scars left by bullets on his chest.

Since the two were situated to her left, Evangeline was able to get a good at his scars, her eyes widening at the site of them.

"No truth at all," he said. He sat next to Evangeline and handed her a bottle of rum, knowing that she was probably thirsty and wanted relief from whatever nightmare she may have had. Or to recover from telling her story.

She took it without delay.

"We'll stay alive a month, maybe more. Keep a weather eye open for passing ships, and our chances are fair."

"And what about Will?" Elizabeth asked. "We have to do something."

Evangeline almost choked on her rum when she mentioned Will. She really hadn't thought of him the entire time they were here.

"You're absolutely right," Jack said. He took another bottle of rum and rolled it to her. Picking up his own bottle, he raised it as if he were giving a toast. "Here's luck to you, Will Turner." With that, he took a long swig of rum.

Evangeline did the same as she watched Elizabeth pick up the bottle and then walk over to the other side of Jack. She then looked out towards the open ocean, watching the waves and listening to the wind. She thought back on everything Will had done for her in the past and earlier that day. He wanted to make amends, to earn her forgiveness for leaving her in England. And now, he would never know that he already had, that she had, in fact, forgiven him.

"_Drink up me hearties, yo ho_," she heard Elizabeth softly sing. She could help but smile. She knew that song all too well. Her father had taught it to her when she was little, whenever he was home.

"What was that, Elizabeth?" Jack asked.

"It's Miss Swann," Elizabeth informed him, and then added, "Nothing. Just a song I learned as a child when I actually thought it would be exciting to meet a pirate."

"Let's hear it, then."

"No."

"Come on," Jack urged. "We've got the time. Let's have it!"

"No," she repeated. "I'd have to have a lot more to drink."

There was a moment's pause, and then Jack asked, "How much more?"

xxx

Evangeline was sitting in the sand, watching Elizabeth and Jack haphazardly dancing around the bonfire they had built. They were all drunk, Evangeline not as much as the others, but enough that it made her drowsy.

"_We're devils, we're black sheep, we're really bad eggs. Drink up me hearties, yo ho_," Elizabeth and Jack sung, terribly off tune due to the rum. "_Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me_."

"I love this song!" Jack exclaimed. He linked arms with Elizabeth and they twirled around for a little. They let go of each other and Jack repeated, "Really bad eggs!" before stumbling to the sand next to Evangeline, dragging Elizabeth with him.

He wrapped an arm around Evangeline, and said with a slur, "When I get the _Pearl_ back, I'm goin' to teach it to the whole crew. And we'll sing it all the time!"

"And you'll be positively the most fearsome pirates in the Spanish Main," Elizabeth said.

"Not just the Spanish Main, love. The entire ocean. The entire wowld. Wherever we want to go, we go. That's what a ship is, you know. It's not just a keel and a hold and a deck and sails. That's what a ship needs. But what a ship is…what the _Black Pearl_ really is…is freedom."

Evangeline, even though a bit tipsy, knew he was right. She knew that what he loved about his ship and why he wanted it back so much. Why he would kill Barbossa for it. For freedom.

_I don't blame him_, she thought. _I felt truly free when I was aboard the _Percephany_. I had never felt so…alive. Felt like I should have._

As she thought about the concept of freedom, and wondered if they were ever going to get off of the island, she slipped out of Jack's arm and fell asleep on the sand. She didn't hear the rest of the conversation. It sounded as if it were merely a hum lulling her into a deep slumber. Within minutes, she was sleeping the most peaceful sleep she'd had in months. And in that sleep, she felt someone slide up behind her and wrap their arm around her waist, their warm breath on her neck. Somewhere, deep down, she knew who it was, but she didn't mind.

Throughout the night, Evangeline didn't stir or wake once.

* * *

A/N: There you have it! Now you know more about Evangeline's past. Man, this chapter was pretty long. It came out to be...13 pages long. Wow O.O

Well, I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know your thoughts on it by leaving a review. They feed me inspiration and tend to make my day! And don't forget to join me on Facebook for updates, pictures, and what not. I have a link for it on my profile page.

~Xanthe


	8. The HMS Dauntless

Author's Note: Merry Belated Christmas everyone, and Happy New Year! I hope everyone got what they wanted. Consider this chapter a belated Christmas gift to you guys, since I was on vacation in Louisiana and Alabama and didn't have access to Word or anything like that. I did have my iPod Touch and pen and paper, so the story was at least written up a bit when I wasn't preoccupied with my crazy family. Yep, I called them crazy, but I'm allowed to :3

Thanks to everyone who read the chapter and added the story to their favorites and subscribed to it. I especially want to thank those of you who have left me wonderful reviews, and those people are: **Rena Deen, Friedrich Nietzsche**,** Pizzapig, Upisdowngirl, dionne dance, JDLuvaSQEE, **and **linalove**. You are all amazing!

So, I'm dedicating this chapter to **Friedrich Nietzsche**; for the amazingly sweet PM you sent me,** linalove**; because you keep making me these amazing covers for the story, and to my grandmother; who begged me to print out the last seven chapters of this story and read them to her while I stayed at her house while we were in Alabama. I apparently have her hooked, and she urged me to get this next chapter posted.

Well, without further ado, here it chapter eight! Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean. Or Captain Jack Sparrow. Wish I did, but all I own are all four DVD copies, three posters, a copy of The Price of Freedom by A.C. Crispin, and a few shirts. Yeah...can you tell I'm a fan? I also have ownership of my OC Evangeline.

* * *

**Chapter Eight: The **_**H.M.S Dauntless**_

Evangeline stirred from her deep slumber, not helping but smile. It was the most peaceful sleep she had in, well, years. No nightmares, no waking up in cold sweats. She felt completely rested. She wasn't ready to get up though, so instead, she turned toward the warmth she could feel next to her and snuggled up close to it. She inhaled deeply, taking in the mixture of seawater and rum.

And she didn't mind it for one moment.

Evangeline stirred a little more and became confused when she felt something heavy and warm on her waist. She opened her eyes a little and looked down to see someone's arm draped across her. Her eyes followed up the arm, finding that said arm belong to Jack, who also seemed to be attached to what she believed to be the most amazing scent. Usually, she would have been completely terrified to have a man that close to her.

For some reason, Evangeline didn't feel that way with Jack. She could only smile.

Until she remembered the events of last night. She remembered that Jack and Elizabeth had been drunk. So, she panicked. Nearly. Evangeline scooted away from him in a careful fashion, so as to not wake the captain. She sat up and tried to relive what happened last night, hoping that nothing really happened.

_**What do you expect? **_Her inner voice asked. _**You were drunk. You let your guard down…again.**_

She shook her head at such a thought.

_No_, she thought. _If something happened, I wouldn't have let him anywhere near me. My clothes most likely would have been torn to shreds. And I wasn't drunk. Just a little giddy. I didn't drink that much anyway._

That's when she remembered everything. She remembered drinking, but she only had one and it only made her a bit groggy. She remembered Jack's arm around her shoulder and talking about the _Pearl_. Then she remembered that she had fallen asleep.

_He must have fallen asleep next to me._

Evangeline watched his sleeping form, taking notice of how handsome he looks in the morning rays of the sun.

_He looks so peaceful_, she thought. _It's as if he never lost the _Black Pearl_. As if he wasn't marooned._

She didn't want to wake him, but unfortunately, Evangeline had to, especially with what she was smelling now.

_What's that burning?_

She looked around to see where the burning was coming from. And when she found it, she shook Jack awake.

"Jack!" she exclaimed. "Wake up!"

He stirred, but that was all.

"Jack!"

At her shouting, Jack shot up, looking at her first. "What?"

"Look!" She pointed towards Jack's right.

Jack looked over in that general direction and saw what was causing the burning smell. Elizabeth was throwing kegs of rum into a great bonfire. Although Evangeline believed it to be a brilliant idea because it could be their way off of the island, she knew that Jack was in no way happy about that. What pirate wouldn't? She could also tell by the way he stormed off towards the Governor's daughter with his arms flailing. Evangeline followed.

"No!" he shouted. "Not good! Stop! Not good! What are you doing? You've burnt all the food, the shade…the rum!"

"Yes," Elizabeth stated. "The rum is gone."

"Why is the rum gone?"

Elizabeth turned to face Jack. "One, it is a vile drink that turns even the most respectable men into complete scoundrels, and two, that signal is over a thousand feet high. The entire Royal Navy is out looking for me. Do you think there is even the slightest chance they won't see it?"

Jack seemed unfazed by this fact. "But why is the rum gone?" he asked again.

_That's all he cares about?_ Evangeline wondered. _The rum?_

"Just wait, Captain Sparrow," Elizabeth continued as she turned away from Jack and plopped down onto the sand. "You give it one hour, maybe two, keep a weather eye out and you will see white sails on that horizon."

Jack hastily pulled out his pistol, thinking that maybe he _should_ just shoot her.

_Nope, can't do that,_ he thought. _As much as she probably deserves it right now, I need this shot. It'll have to wait._

He quickly placed his pistol back in its place in his sash and walked off in the direction Elizabeth had taken on her walk yesterday. Evangeline was about to walk after him when said Governor's daughter stopped her.

"Why do you go along with him?"

Evangeline turned to face her. "Beg pardon?" she asked.

"When did you join his crew?" Elizabeth specified. "What's in it for you?"

_Why is she choosing now to question me?_ she wondered.

"Well, mainly because Gibbs did. Pretty much, wherever he goes, I go. That, and I guess I trust Jack."

_Can I really say that?_ she wondered. _I don't see why not. He hasn't done anything to prove otherwise._

"Are you related to Mr. Gibbs?" Elizabeth really wanted to ask if she was daft enough to trust Jack, but she didn't.

Evangeline shook her head. You really don't know who I am, do you?"

"No. Not the slightest idea."

Evangeline took a deep breath, and then said, "I'm Will's sister."

Elizabeth's eyes widened. "You're Evangeline?"

"Yes."

Elizabeth was shocked to say the least. Evangeline doesn't look a lot like Will, so she guessed that maybe the girl looked more like their mother. "Will's told me about you," she said. "Couldn't stop talking about you, actually."

_Well, I guess I'll have to forgive him now,_ Evangeline thought.

"Really?"

"Yes. He also told me about what had happened to you. At least, what he knew about it. I'm so sorry."

Evangeline nodded. "Well, I'm here now. I suppose that's all that matters now."

"But," Elizabeth said, still confused. "Why do you trust Jack."

Evangeline sighed. She didn't expect her to understand. "Because…he understands me. He understands my situation."

With that, Evangeline left a confused Elizabeth behind and ran after Jack. When she did eventually catch up to him, she found him mumbling to himself.

"Must have been terrible for you to be trapped her, Jack," he said in a high-pitched voice. "Must have been terrible for you…" Jack turned back towards where Elizabeth had been left behind, and in his own voice, yelled, "Well it bloody is now!"

Evangeline gave the captain a strange look.

He looked at Evangeline and added, "Not you, darlin'. That," he waved his hands towards the other side of the island. "Bloody rum burner."

"Well, I understand why you're upset, but she did find us a way off the island," Evangeline reasoned.

"HA!" Jack scoffed.

_Great, I find a competent crew member, and she sides with the rum burner,_ Jack thought.

_**She's right and you know it, **_his inner voice said.

_Bugger._

Jack's thoughts were broken when he saw the terrified expression on Evangeline's face. He turned to see what had caused her to be scared, and that's when he saw the white sails of a naval ship, anchored just off shore, a longboat rowing closer to the island.

"There'll be no living with her after this," he muttered.

Jack turned to look at Evangeline once more and then back at the ship. _If they figure out who she is, they'll send her back to bloody London and to that bloody asylum. Or worse._

"Jack?" came Evangeline's terrified questioning.

Jack turned away from what would most likely become their new prison and pulled Evangeline into his arms, an action that surprised the both of them. Evangeline looked up at him. "What are we going to do?"

The pirate captain looked at her with concern. "Don't worry, love," he said. "I won't let them harm you, or take you back. I promise. Gibbs would stick a bullet in me otherwise."

Evangeline smiled a little and then put her head on his chest. This was the second time he had held her to comfort her, the second time she had not flinched away. The second time she had felt safe in his arms.

As for Jack, he meant every word of that promise. Every word.

xxx

"But we've got to save Will!" Elizabeth argued.

"No!" Governor Swann exclaimed. "You're safe now. We will return to Port Royal immediately, not go gallivanting after pirates."

"Then we condemn him to death."

Evangeline didn't like the sound of that at all. Elizabeth was in the same boat.

"The boy's fate is regrettable," the Governor said. "But then so was his decision to engage in piracy."

"To rescue me! To prevent anything from happening to me!"

"He did what he believed was the right thing to do," Evangeline chimed in. "If it were you, what would you have done?"

Governor Swann regarded her with the upmost curiosity. "And who are you?" he asked.

"Evangeline Turner, sir. I'm Will's sister."

"Sister? You mean the one he had mentioned leaving in London."

"The very same."

The Governor looked at the poor girl, most likely thinking that she either had turned pirate in order to find her brother or was kidnapped. Evangeline shifted under his scrutiny.

Jack, sensing that she was uncomfortable, changed the subject from Evangeline to the issue on hand. "If I may be so bold as to inject my professional opinion," he said, walking towards a highly dressed officer known as Commodore Norrington, whose name Evangeline had only learned just moments ago. "The _Pearl _was listing near to scuppers after the battle. It's very unlikely she'll be able to make good time. Think about it. The _Black Pearl_…the last _real_ pirate threat in the Caribbean, mate. How can you pass that up?"

Norrington remained stone-faced. "By remembering I serve others, Mr. Sparrow. Not only myself."

With that, he began to walk up the steps leading to the helm of the _H.M.S Dauntless_. Elizabeth quickly followed after him. "Commodore," she said. "I beg you please do this…for me. As a wedding gift."

Norrington quickly looked back toward Elizabeth. Both stared at each other.

Governor Swann walked up to her. "Elizabeth, are you accepting the Commodore's proposal?"

"I am," his daughter replied after a brief moment of silence.

Evangeline was shocked, to say the least. _Wait, I thought she loved Will?_

Jack interrupted her thoughts. "A wedding. I love weddings. Drinks all around!"

Norrington broke off eye contact with Elizabeth and glared at Jack.

"I know. 'Clamp him in irons,' right?"

Norrington seemed to regarded the situation. A little too much to Evangeline's liking. She walked over to the stairs and looked up to him. "Please, sir," she said. "He's my brother…please."

The commodore looked at the deck and then towards Jack. "Mr. Sparrow," he finally said. He gestured to the two guards standing behind the pirate. "You will accompany these fine men to the helm and provide us with a bearing to Isla de Muerta. You will then spend the rest of the voyage contemplating all possible meanings of the phrase 'silent as the grave.' Do I make myself clear?"

Jack smirked. "Inescapably clear." With that, the two naval men grabbed Jack roughly by the arms and lead him up the steps.

Norrington climbed down the rest of the stairs to join Elizabeth, her father, and Evangeline on the deck. Evangeline looked at him gratefully. "Thank you, Commodore. So much."

Norrington nodded, while the Governor walked up to them. "Commodore," he said. "I must question the wisdom of this."

"With all due respect, Governor," he said. "Mr. Turner is a subject of the British crown, and therefore under my protection."

"Rightly so," Governor Swann agreed. Looking towards Elizabeth and back at him, he added, "Take care of her."

Norrington nodded, and then looked towards Evangeline, who had walked towards the port side rail to give them privacy. His right hand man, Lt. Gillette, had joined him and saw her as well.

_She looks familiar_, Gillette thought. Then he remembered seeing something before they left Port Royal., and his eyes widened. _It can't be._

Gillette went to find the third in command, Lt. Groves and informed him of the situation. The man's eyes widened at the information, and both went to action. Groves went towards the girl and grabbed a hold of her arms from behind her, while Gillette went to fetch a pair of shackles. This did take her by surprise, so she couldn't help but scream.

"Let me go!" she shouted as she began struggling.

Norrington and Elizabeth witnessed the actions in the middle of their conversation.

"What is the meaning of this?" Governor Swann asked, only rejoining the group at the sound of Evangeline's screams. He wasn't the only who had become upset by her sudden distress. Jack had walked up to the rail at the helm to watch what was going on, only no one noticed him, or the two officers who had accompanied him.

"I'm only arresting a dangerous fugitive, Governor," was Groves's statement.

"On what charges, may I ask?"

Groves looked towards Governor Swann. "Her name is actually Evangeline Flavisham, and has somehow escaped from Bethlehem Asylum. She is a dangerous lunatic."

Evangeline shook her head. "That's a lie. I'm completely sane!"

Governor Swann looked to the struggling girl, and then back to Groves. "Do you mean to say that this is not Mr. Turner's sister? That she is a danger to us all?"

"I believe so. She is wanted in London for the murder of a Dr. Helmsworth and two orderlies."

"I did that in self-defense!" Evangeline argued. "Please, I beg you. Don't send me back!"

"I'm afraid we have no choice," Groves said.

Evangeline shook her head when Gillette walked up to her, shackles in hand. She began to struggle even more, screaming and crying.

Elizabeth noticed how terrified the girl had become. She could see the fear in her eyes. So, she did what she thought was right and ran up to Groves. She grabbed at his hands to pull Evangeline away from him.

"Elizabeth!" Governor Swann exclaimed. "What on earth are you doing?"

Elizabeth turned towards him, and said, "I'm trying to help her. Can't you see she terrified?"

"Miss Swann," Gillette said. "She is a danger to us all and a danger to herself. You can't give her the help that she needs."

Elizabeth became furious. "They aren't going to help her. They'll kill her before that happens."

"Better her than any of us."

"And you're not going to ask what got her there in the first place? You're just going to lock her up for the rest of her life before you hear her out?"

"We already know what happened," Gillette said, putting the shackles around Evangeline's bandaged wrists none too gently. "Why do we need to hear the same thing again?"

No one noticed Jack grip onto his pistol tightly.

Elizabeth was appalled. How could they just easily put her in irons? Did her side of the story not count? She looked to the Commodore, silently pleading him to do something. And he was too happy to oblige that secret request.

"Gillette, Groves, release Miss Turner."

Both men looked shocked by the Commodore's order. "Sir?" Gillette asked.

"Now, Lieutenant."

Both Groves and Gillette released Evangeline, who fell to the floor. Groves, who, upon hearing Elizabeth's argument, was more inclined to show her kindness, and squatted down to make sure she was okay . Gillette stood stock still.

Elizabeth knelt down next to Evangeline and wrapped her arm around her to comfort the girl, who was crying. Norrington walked over to the small group and knelt down to Evangeline's level while the Governor stood next to him.

"Why were you put in the asylum, Evangeline?" Elizabeth asked.

Evangeline sniffed, hating the fact that she had to repeat the story. "I was put there because Sean called me a lunatic after I stabbed him in the shoulder, out of self-defense."

"Why did you have to defend yourself?" Norrington asked.

She looked up at him with a tear-streaked face. "Because he had beat me and tried to force himself on me. He may have been my husband, but he didn't have my consent."

Elizabeth gasped.

"My God," the Governor said.

"And they put you there just because of that?" she asked.

Evangeline nodded.

"That's terrible," Groves said.

Once again, a nod.

"What have they done to you in that place?" the Governor asked, taking notice of her bandages wrists for the first time. Norrington did as well, and gently grabbed her hands to examine them.

"My 'treatment'," Evangeline said. "Courtesy of Dr. Helmsworth. They believe that bloodletting cures insanity. That, and whipping seems to do the trick when you don't behave."

"Have you told them?" Elizabeth asked. "That you weren't…that you were abused?"

"Yes, but it seems that even though you are the wife of an agent of the East India Company, there word is valued more than yours."

Norrington looked up to Gillette, who now felt ashamed. "Gillette, the keys."

Without hesitation, Gillette handed over a ring of keys to the Commodore, who immediately unlocked the shackles around Evangeline's wrist. With that done, Elizabeth and Groves helped Evangeline to stand. Norrington looked to them, and said, "Follow me. I'll show you to your quarters."

Evangeline shed more tears. "Thank you…so much, Commodore. I don't want to go back to that horrible place."

"Not to worry, Miss Turner. No one deserves that."

Norrington beckoned for them to follow him, and, along with the Governor, they left the upper deck and headed to the cabins below.

Jack watched from his spot at the helm and then turned to the two officers and the map they were looking at, his grip on his pistol finally relinquished.

xxx

Evangeline sat up straight when she heard the knock on her cabin door. She slowly got up from her small bed and walked over to the door, opening it.

"Jack?" she asked.

"Hello, darlin'," he said as he walked in.

She closed the door behind him. "What are you doing here? How did you find out what cabin I was in?"

"Well," he said, turning to her. "When they were done with their fancy luncheon, I was able to convince dear Miss Swann to give up your location. And voila, here I am."

Evangeline smiled. "Really?"

"Aye. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. It could have been worse. Elizabeth could have not come to my rescue and I would be stuck in a cold, drippy brig."

Jack nodded. "Well, I can tell you that you should have no trouble for the rest of the voyage, to and from Isla de Muerta."

"Really? How?"

"It seems that you are somehow in the Governor's favor, and are now under his protection."

Evangeline was both surprised and thrilled to hear that. "That's great."

"You don't seem too excited, love," Jack pointed out.

"I am," she said. "I'm just surprised, is all."

"Why is that?"

"Well, I am Will's sister, and it seems that the Governor doesn't seem to hold him in high regard."

"Ah, well, there is that," Jack said, sitting down next to her.

Within seconds of sitting down, Evangeline rested her head on his shoulder. Jack looked down at her, and then proceeded to put his arm around her.

_Knew she'd warm up to me._

"What am I going to do?" she asked, out of the blue.

Jack was indeed confused. "What do you mean, love?"

"I mean…what if we can't get back in time? What if it's too late?"

Jack understood what she was saying. "Evangeline, look at me."

Evangeline sat up and did just that.

Jack put his hands on her shoulders, getting her to face more towards him. "We will save your whelp of a brother before Barbossa can do anything to him. You have me word, love."

Evangeline looked into his deep, dark chocolate brown eyes, trying to find any hint of doubt, but the only thing she found was determination and belief in those words. So, she knew she could believe and trust his word. She found herself releasing a few tears and smiling.

"Do you really mean it?" she asked, making sure she wasn't fooling herself.

"Every word, love."

She laughed a little and began crying tears of joy. "Thank you, Jack."

Jack's heart skipped a beat at the sound of her small laugh.

They sat there for what felt like ages, the two of them just staring into one another's eyes. Jack reached a hand up to gently caress her face, the pad of his thumb rubbing the tears streaming down away.

_She's absolutely beautiful_, he thought. _And her laugh…whoa, whoa, whoa. What am I thinking? I am Captain Jack Sparrow. I never think these things about a woman._

_**But not every woman you've been with is Evangeline, mate**_, his inner voice reminded him.

_True as that may be, it doesn't mean, or prove, anything._

_**Face it, boy oh. You're falling in love with her.**_

_Am not._

_**Really, Jackie?**_

Jack looked into Evangeline's deep blue eyes. He couldn't help but lose himself in them. These were eyes that had seen happiness and despair, life and death. Eyes that were full of wisdom the he was sure he had not fully witnessed yet, and grasping onto what innocence she had left. In a way, they reminded him of the sea and its mysteries, its wonders.

It was those eyes, he realized, that caused him to fall into emotions he never thought he would ever experience, never thought he would ever have.

_Bog it,_ he thought. _I am in love with her._

His eyes drifted to her full lips, and he allowed his thumb to brush over them softly. His hand then slid down to her neck. This sent a shudder through Evangeline, but it wasn't one out of fear. It was a feeling that she had never felt before. A feeling that she didn't seem to mind.

She looked into his dark eyes and, as Jack had done with her eyes, was lost in them in an instant. She could see his determination, his desire to retrieve his ship. She could see an underlying tone of concern, and something she thought was only reserved for the _Black Pearl_, something she was seeing directed towards her. Was it love?

_Is that really there? Or am I giving myself a false hope, letting my guard down? Does he really—?_

Within a moment's breath, Evangeline's thoughts were broken. Jack had placed his lips upon hers, pulling her into a soft kiss. This caught Evangeline by surprise, to say the least. But she didn't flinch away. She allowed it to happen. It felt right. Slowly, her eyes fluttered shut, and she kissed him back.

Jack felt Evangeline place her hands on his shoulders. He felt her respond to the kiss timidly, just as he expected. He was surprised when he felt her kiss him back, especially knowing what he did. But she kissed him back nonetheless, showing him that she wanted this as much as he did. He licked her bottom lip, begging for entrance. She parted her lips, allowing such an entrance, and letting him deepen the kiss. Evangeline felt the hand that was on her shoulder slide to her waist to pull her onto his lap while the other found its way into her raven locks. She wrapped her arms around his neck, getting lost in the kiss. Jack found that he was losing himself in the kiss as well, breathing her in as he did so, taking in the scent of lavender. To him, she was just as intoxicating as a bottle of the best rum.

Both never wanted that moment to end, but the sound of footsteps told them that the universe thought otherwise. In a matter of seconds, there was a knock on the door.

This caused the two to break the kiss.

"Evangeline?" came Elizabeth's voice from the other side of the door.

"Just a moment," Evangeline managed to say.

Evangeline removed herself from Jack's lap, and he hid himself in a wardrobe on the far side of the cabin. She righted herself, walked over to the door, and opened it.

"Good afternoon, Elizabeth," she said.

"Likewise. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. Better, actually."

Elizabeth smiled. "That's great. Are you hungry? I brought you this." At that, Evangeline noticed a tray of food in her hands.

Evangeline grabbed at her now growling stomach. "Starving."

Elizabeth handed her the tray, which she took without hesitation. She walked back into the cabin and placed the tray on the nightstand next to her bed, Elizabeth following behind her. Neither woman noticed a certain pirate sneak out of the room and quietly close the door.

* * *

A/N: Well, there you have it. Another chapter, ended. It probably would have had more to it, but I felt it stopped at a good place. And I hope that I did that kissing scene justice, because, well...it's only the second one I've ever written and I was a bit nervous about it. Still am, but I'll get over it :3 The first one I've written is for a different chapter for a different story...that I haven't posted yet *smacks forehead* I'll have to get on that. But anyway...I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please leave me some feedback. I enjoy reading what you guys think. You guys become my inspiration when you do, and they make me a very happy person. Also, don't forget to join me on Facebook! The link is posted on my profile, so don't be shy! Join me for updates, pictures, and whatever other craziness I post there.

~Xanthe :3


	9. To the Pirates' Cave

Author's Note: How's everyone doing? Good? Awesome sauce. Well, here's another chapter for you to enjoy. It's a little short, but there's good reason. You'll know when you get there.

Thanks to those who have read/favorited/subscribed to the story. I certainly appreciate it. Thank you my wonderful reviewers **Guest, linalove, Pizzapig, Upisdowngirl, Guest, dionne dance, AmyPond211, **and **Friedrich Nietzsche**. You're all awesome! Over 50 reviews! *jumps for joy*

(1) Guest: _Wasn't it?_  
(2) Guest:_ Thank you. Glad you're enjoying them :3  
_AmyPond211: _That was interesting...and random. But I do love Merida, and random stuff, so I'm good XD_

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean. If I did, I'd slap the scraggly beard off of Barbossa's face and then mess with Beckett big time *evil laugh* But sadly, I do not, so no adventures with Captain Jack Sparrow either :(

On with the chapter!

* * *

**Chapter Nine: To the Pirates' Cave!**

Night had fallen by the time the _Dauntless_ had reached Isla de Muerta. Evangeline had left her cabin hours ago to get some fresh air, and was walking toward the port side railing when she caught sight of Elizabeth. She was about to go join her when she was greeted by Governor Swann.

"Ah," he said with a smile. "I see you are walking about. Are you feeling any better?"

Evangeline reciprocated the smile. "Much better. Thank you, Governor."

"That's good to hear, especially after all that you have been through."

Her smile wavered, but only slightly. "Yes, especially after that."

"It's a shame about Sean," Swann said. "I found his company rather enjoyable when he was here in the Caribbean. But knowing what I know now…"

"It's fine, Governor," Evangeline interrupted. "In the end, he got what he deserved."

The Governor gave her a sad smile. "Well, once we arrive back in Port Royal, I shall take it upon myself to write an official pardon on your behalf, Miss Turner. And I ask that you stay in the mansion."

Evangeline gave the Governor a confused look. "What?"

"Well, I thought that Elizabeth might want a companion. She's never really gotten along with any of the other girls. And you'll need somewhere to stay, of course," Governor Swann explained.

To say that she was shocked at the Governor's kindness would be an understatement. Evangeline hadn't actually planned on staying in Port Royal, but hoped that, once he retrieved the _Black Pearl_, Jack would allow her to stick around. Not wanting to be rude though, she said, "Thank you, Governor."

"You're most welcome," he replied, walking away. Evangeline could have sworn that she heard him mutter about he liked her and that she seemed to have some sense of propriety, but she wasn't holding much hope.

Evangeline watched as he left before she turned to join Elizabeth. That is, until she noticed her talking to Jack. She couldn't hear what they were saying, so she walked a bit closer so that she could. She felt bad about eavesdropping, but she couldn't hold in her curiosity. She only caught on to part of their conversation.

"You're a smart man, Jack," Elizabeth said. "I just don't entirely trust you."

Jack moved closer to her, and, gesturing between the two of them, he said, "Peas in a pod, darlin'."

Evangeline wasn't sure what to make of the conversation, but knew she couldn't make any judgments since she had only heard part of it.

_It wouldn't really be fair to them_, she thought. She was about to make her presence known when Commodore Norrington walked up to Jack with a look of disgust.

Throwing him his compass, he said, "With me, Sparrow."

Captain _Sparrow_, she thought as she got up from her spot. Knowing what was going on, Evangeline said," Let me go with you."

Jack was the first to object. "It's best you stay here, love," he said.

"For once, I agree with Sparrow," Norrington admitted, much to his chagrin.

"But I want to help!" Evangeline exclaimed. "He's my brother."

"I understand, Miss Turner," the Commodore said. "But you would be helping him more if you stay aboard."

"But—"

Jack sauntered over to her and put an arm around her shoulder. "Besides, you wouldn't want to worry your dear brother Will, now would you, eh darlin'?"

Evangeline looked up at him, looking a little defeated. "No, I wouldn't."

He smiled. "So then it would do you some good to stay behind and wait for our return. Maybe sit next to a window and enjoy the breeze, keep a look out." All the while he was talking, Jack was leading Evangeline towards the captain's cabin and looking at her.

Jack opened the doors and Evangeline walked inside, albeit a bit reluctantly. She turned towards her captain, hoping that maybe he would change his mind.

Looking into his eyes, she noticed a hint of mischief, but nothing hinting that he would change his mind about her staying behind.

"Jack, please," she begged with tear rimmed eyes.

He said nothing to that. Jack grabbed her hand and pulled her in close, his mouth just centimeters away from her ear. He rubbed his nose against it, causing her to shudder. As if that wasn't enough, she could feel his warm breath against hers as he whispered, "Keep a weather eye out, savvy?" With that, he pulled away.

The butterflies in her stomach quickly melted away as she looked up at him angrily.

Jack shrugged. "Pirate," he said as he walked out and closed the cabin doors.

She felt her anger rise.

_How dare he!_ she thought. _He knows that I'm damn well cable of handling myself. So why won't he let me go with him?_

Evangeline curled her hands into tight fists in frustration. That's when she felt the crumpled piece of folded parchment in her hand. The hand that Jack had taken a hold of.

She looked down and, taking it in both hands, unfolded the piece of parchment. In the dim candlelight of the cabin, she was able to make out Jack's elegant script. Sometime, she imagined probably as Isla de Muerta had entered their line of vision, he had managed to scribble out:

_Wait fifteen minutes. When you see me get into a different boat, climb out the cabin window and swim for the cave entrance. I'll meet you there._

_~CJS_

Evangeline smiled, smiled at the fact that he was only ensuring her escape from the confines of the cabin. He had known that she'd want to save Will and wasn't about to be the one to stop her. Either that, or he knew that he wouldn't be able to stop her.

Keeping that smile plastered to her face, Evangeline sat at the window facing towards the cave and, as Jack instructed, kept a weather eye out.

xxx

It took them a good ten minutes to row towards Isla de Muerta to the position they were in now. Another two minutes had passed before the Commodore said anything.

"I don't care for the situation," Norrington said. "Any attempt to storm the cave could turn into an ambush."

"Not if you're the one doing the ambushin'," Jack interjected. He put his arm on his shoulder and continued. "I go in, I convince Barbossa to send his men out in their little boats. You and your mates return to the _Dauntless_ and blast the bejesus out of them with your little cannons, eh. What do you have to lose?"

Norrington, using his spyglass, rid his shoulder of Jack's arm. "Nothing I'd lament being rid of."

Jack was unfazed by this. "Now, to be quite honest with you, there's still a slight risk to those aboard the _Dauntless_, which includes the future Mrs. Commodore."

Much to the Commodore's chagrin, he knew that the pirate was right. Turning to Gillette, he said, "Row back to the ship, taking some men with you. Make sure Miss Swann is safe. Lock her in the captain's cabin with Miss Turner if you have to, but make sure she's safe."

"Yes sir."

Gillette called for one of the other boats to row closer so that he could climb aboard. On Norrington's orders, another boat was emptied, its men dividing up and climbing into other longboats, and given to Jack.

Smirking and feigning thanks, Jack made sure that was standing up before climbing into the abandoned longboat. He sat down and began rowing to the cave entrance. When he was sure he was out of sight, he stopped rowing, allowing to boat to float, and began counting. That entire endeavor took up the remaining three minutes he needed.

No one besides Jack noticed movement in the water off in the distance.

xxx

Evangeline struggled to swim without making much noise. But she managed it somehow, and was able to make her rendezvous with Jack. She made it to the longboat and climbed aboard, with the assistance of Jack.

"Bravo, love," he said smirking. "I must say I'm impressed. You managed to slip past them, right under their noses."

"Well," Evangeline began as she was wringing out her hair. "If there's one thing I learned in that bloody asylum, it was how to hold my breath long enough. None of the orderlies seemed to know how to bathe."

Jack grimaced at the image, but couldn't hold back a chuckle. "I'd imagine so."

He began rowing at a steady pace, watching a soaked Evangeline taking in her surroundings. As she looked up, he watched as the water glistening from her chin slowly dripped down her neck and collarbone. Thinking about where that particular drip was headed caused him to lick his lips and made his head spin with desire.

_**Whoa mate,**_ his inner voice warned. _**Need to take it nice and slow with her. She's special that one is.**_

Jack shook his head and looked at the girl, who was looking at him now with her azure eyes. He nearly lost himself in them, as he found he was prone to do.

_That she is_, he thought.

In the silence that took place between them, they made it to the rocky slope where other boats were moored. Jack hopped out first in order to help Evangeline out. When they were steadily standing on the rocky shore, he took her hand and led her to the treasure room. Along the way, she slipped on a bit of rock, nearly causing the both of them to topple over. Luckily, Jack caught hold of her, bringing her closer to him, their faces only a breath away.

"You alright there, darlin'?" he asked, his breath fanning over her lips.

Evangeline shuddered slightly. "Y-yeah. I'm fine," she stammered, trying not to take a breath.

But she did. The aroma she felt so compelling and irresistible assaulted her senses, the familiar sent of rum and seawater filling her nostrils. It felt as though her legs would give out in a matter of seconds. She shook off the desire kiss him, to have him closer, and managed to say, "W-we should…uh…we should keep going."

Jack sighed. "You're right, love." He stepped away from her and gestured ahead of them. "Shall we?"

Evangeline nodded and followed Jack further into the cave, her thoughts far away from her wish to help save her brother. She couldn't help but question herself, especially when she felt the heat rise to her cheeks.

_What's the matter with me?_ she wondered. _I always seemed to get like this every time he looks me in the eye. Why do I feel this way?_

_**Face it, girly**_,her inner voice said. _**You're falling in love with him.**_

_But why? I hardly know him, not to mention he has a woman in just about every port._

_**Yes, but he's also the only one who truly understands what you're going through. He could have easily told Gibbs that you couldn't come, whether he knew about you or not. He may have his short comings, but he's not like any of the men you've met.**_

Evangeline looked at Jack, knowing it to be true. In the few days she been with him, she's noticed how he treats his crew with respect, especially Ana Maria, and how he had kindly taken her onboard without a qualm. He had treated her with more respect and humility than anyone she had ever met. The knowledge of her being committed to an asylum didn't seem to faze him one bit either.

_True, _she thought. _But…_

_**If that's not enough proof for you, think about the dream**_, her inner voice argued._** And the kiss.**_

At the memory of the kiss, she felt her cheeks flush even more, if that was possible. It may have been small, but it was filled with enough passion, enough love that she was convinced that maybe she perhaps wasn't the only one who felt this way.

Evangeline was so caught up in her own little world that she hardly noticed when Jack had stopped and pulled her off to a little alcove.

"Evangeline?" Jack asked, noticing her far off look.

"Yes?" she said, shaking her head. "You say something?"

"Stay here for the time being. You can get a good look inside from here, through this opening." Jack gestured to an opening along the wall. Peeking through, they could see right into the treasure room. She could see Barbossa standing on a pile of treasure next to a large stone chest, Will and a group of pirates right next to him.

"Okay," she answered apprehensively.

"I need you to stay out of sight until you see Barbossa's men leave, savvy? Then it will be safe to come out."

Evangeline nodded. "Aye, Captain," she said.

Jack looked her in the eye, seeing the fear she undoubtedly felt for her brother. He could see another underlying emotion, but seeing as they didn't have much time, didn't ponder it for long. Putting his hands on her shoulders, he said, "Keep an eye out," and ran off to find a way into the room.

Evangeline watched him leave, and then turned towards the commotion behind her. She situated herself along the slope next to the opening so that she wouldn't be discovered when Barbossa's men left the cave. She watched and listened as they cheered at Barbossa's words, hoping and praying that Jack would be able to stop him in time.

"Hurry, Jack," she whispered.

No sooner had she voiced that wish that the noise in the room died down, causing the traitorous pirate to freeze in the middle of his speech.

Jack had arrived just in time.

* * *

A/N: And...we've arrived at the Battle of the Isla de Muerta. Reason why I didn't include it in this chapter? The chapter would have been too long. WAY too long. Can't have that, now can I?

Before someone mentions it, I understand that Evangeline is doubtful of her feelings for Jack. But think about it...wouldn't you if you were in her position. Let me rephrase that, her situation? I sure would. That being said, it's a Jack/OC fic, so of course they'll end up together. i just don't want to rush it, savvy? I already feel that maybe they're being a bit rushed. No one has asked queestions about it, but I thought I'd put it out there just in case. I feel as though there will be questions.

ANYWAY...I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please don't be afraid to leave me some feedback. I love knowing what you guys think, and it helps me a lot. No flames, though. I'm a bit of a pyromaniac (just a tad smidgen), so I laugh at them anyway. Reviews make me happy!

Don't forget to join me on Facebook! Link's on my profile.

~Xanthe :3


	10. Swords Crossed

Author's Note: Here's the next chapter guys! Bet you didn't expect an update for it that quick, did ya? Well, I was super excited to write this chapter, and with the inspiration I got from all those amazing reviews, I couldn't wait. I had to write this! I had a lot of fun writing it, seeing as it was one of my favortie parts of the movie. I hope I did it some justice.

So, thank you to those who have taken the time to read my story and add it to their favorites. Huge thank you to my awesome reviewers: **linalove, xxz0eyxx, Pizzapig, Gothic Unicorn, dionne dance, Guest, Guest, Guest,** and** Guest **(_wow, four Guest reviews_)**.** You rock!

Just one more chapter for the first film after this, and then it's on to Dead Man's Chest. Just to remind you, this story is going through all of the movies, so this story isn't going to just be eleven chapters long. I'm going all out here, and I'm planning on going beyond that with what I think may happen in the fifth film (come on, who doesn't wonder what they've got planned for that film, especially since it's been confirmed? 2015 people!)

And, out of curiosity, had anyone ever read The Giver. One of the best books ever, right? Did you know there was a series? I sure didn't. I just found out last week and reserved copies from my library so that I could read them. I'm pretty excited! That's right, I'm a bookworm.

Well, with that out of the way, let's get on with the chapter!

**Disclaimer:** (God, I hate these bloody things) I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean or Captain Jack Sparrow, as is an obvious fact. I'd be having way too much fun making Beckett's life a living hell if I did *Sweeney Todd smirk inserted here*

* * *

**Chapter Ten: Swords Crossed  
**  
"Jack!" Will exclaimed.

"Not possible," Barbossa said in disbelief.

"Not probable," Jack countered as he made his way through Barbossa's band of pirates.

"Where's Elizabeth?" Will asked. "Where's Evangeline?"

Bo'sun clamped a hand on Jack's shoulder to keep him from advancing. "Elizabeth is safe, just like I promised. She all set to marry Norrington just like she promised, and you get to die for her just like you promised. So we're all men of our word really, except for Elizabeth, who is, in fact, a woman."

Will gave him a stern look. "And Evangeline? What about her?"

"Oh," the pirate said. "Well, she is staying put, just like she promised. So that makes two women who are...uh...women of their word."

Barbossa rolled his eyes at the exchange between the two, and raised the knife in his hand and pointed it in Jack's direction. "Shut up," he said. "Yer next."

Just as Barbossa put the knife to Will's neck, Jack said with a grimace, "You don't want to be doing that, mate."

Barbossa scowled at him. "Oh, I really think I do," he argued, and put the knife back to Will's throat.

Jack merely shrugged and folded his hands together. "Your funeral."

The older pirate rolled his eyes, quickly taking the knife away from the boy and facing Jack. "Why don't I want to be doin' it?"

"Well because," Jack began, slapping Bo'sun's hand off of his shoulder. "Because the _HMS Dauntless_, pride of the Royal Navy, is floating just off shore waiting for you."

_That,_ he thought. _And you'll have to face the fury of a woman scorned_.

xxx

Evangeline was that woman Jack was thinking of. From her hiding spot, she could see and hear the exchange between her captain and Barbossa.

_What is he planning?_ she wondered. _Why tell him about the Navy?_

She saw as Jack walked up closer to Barbossa, standing on the pile of treasure across from Will. She could just barely make out what they were saying, thanks to their voices carrying inside the room.

"Just hear me out, mate," she heard Jack say. "You order your men to row out to the _Dauntless_, they do what they do best. Robert's your uncle, Fannie's your aunt, there you are with two ships. The makings of your very own fleet. Of course, you'll take the grandest as your flagship, and who's to argue? But what of the _Pearl_?"

He paused for effect, most likely allowing his words to sink in. Evangeline had to admit that he did have a way with words.

"Name me Captain," he continued. "I'll sail under your colors, give you ten percent of me plunder, and you get to introduce yourself as 'Commodore' Barbossa, savvy?"

"And I suppose, in exchange, you want me to not kill the whelp?" Barbossa asked.

"No, no, by all means, kill the whelp. Just not yet."

_What?!_ Evangeline wondered. _Is he serious? Especially after the things Will has done for him?_From what she had heard, Will was responsible for releasing Jack out of that prison and, essentially, he was helping him get his ship back.

Little did she know, Jack wasn't planning on letting the older pirate kill Will.

"Wait to lift the curse," she heard Jack say. "Until the opportune moment."

Evangeline watched Jack bend down slightly to pick up a handful of the cursed gold as he continued to speak. "For instance, after you've killed Norrington's men. Every. Last. One."

At his last few words, Jack dropped a medallion for each word. Evangeline noticed how his hand shifted slightly, but she didn't think anything of it.

"You've been planning this from the beginning," she heard Will say through gritted teeth. "Ever since you learned my name."

"Yeah," was Jack's reply.

"I want fifty percent of your plunder," Barbossa demanded.

"Fifteen," Jack argued.

"Forty."

"Twenty-five. And I'll buy you a hat. A really big one...Commodore."

Barbossa hesitated, as if he was actually taking it into consideration. He stretched out his hand to Jack, who took rather hastily. "We have an accord."

When they broke off the hand shake, Jack turned to the crew and ordered, "All hands to the boats!" When no one moved, he looked to the older pirate and said, "Apologies. You give the orders."

From her spot, Evangeline could make out a faint smirk on Barbossa's face as he looked at his crew.

"Gents," he called out. "Take a walk."

Evangeline became confused. _Walk?_ she wondered. _How are they going to walk to the_ Dauntless_? Won't they need to use the boats to get out there?_

"Not to the boats?" she heard Jack ask.

Barbossa merely looked at him, as if that was the answer to his question.

That's when she remembered what Jack had told her. _Of course_, she thought. _The curse. Does anyone on the_ Dauntless _know about this?_

Before she could answer her own unspoken question, Barbossa's crew made for the exits that would lead to the cave entrance, and Evangeline hid herself in the shadows of her hiding spot so as to not be noticed by any passing pirates.

As soon as the coast was clear, Evangeline slid out of her hiding spot, and quickly made her way to the treasure room.

xxx

Jack shifted through the piles of treasure, one piece after another. Barbossa sat at the base of the treasure pile that held Cortés' stone chest with two pirates standing beside him, while just a little ways, a pirate named Twigg (_Aptly named_, was Jack's thought) kept Will bound and restrained.

As Jack looked through the different piles, something caught his eye. He picked it up to examine it closely. When he saw that no one was really watching him, he quickly pocketed the item. He then saw fit to pick up a golden Buddha statue when Barbossa finally spoke up.

"Ye know, Jack," he said. "I thought I had ye figured, but it turns out yer a hard man to predict."

Jack turned towards him while throwing the statue back into the pile of treasure. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a lithe form slipping into the room.

"Me?" Jack asked whilst smirking. "I'm dishonest. And a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest." He walked closer and closer to a pirate standing near the water's edge. "I mean, honestly, it's the honest ones you want to watch out for, because you can never know when they'll do something incredibly stupid."

As he stated this, he grabbed the sword from the pirate next to him while pushing him into the water. Jack then threw the sword to Will, who caught it expertly with his bound hands. Before anyone could grasp what was happening, he had cut himself from his bonds and attacked Twigg, while Jack drew his sword and went at Barbossa, who retaliated by drawing his own.

As Jack and Barbossa fought, Will took care of the other three pirates in the room. He parried, lunged, and dodged their attacks until the sound of glass breaking caused him to pause momentarily, as well as the pirates he was fighting. That's when he saw one of the pirates fall to their knees, revealing his attacker. To his surprise, it was Evangeline.

"Evangeline?" he asked confused.

She didn't say anything. She merely withdrew her sword and began attacking Twigg. He was taken by surprise, so she was able to have the upper hand. Unfortunately, Will was too busy watching her that he didn't notice the other pirate attack him.

Will eventually regained the upper hand in his fight. While he did, he couldn't help but watch Evangeline as she fought Twigg. He watched as she lunged and parried with a grace he didn't know she had, didn't know she possessed. Her swordsmanship was superb.

_Where did she learn to fight like that?_ he wondered as he dodged an attack from the shorter, now conscious pirate that his sister had knocked out. _I really don't know anything about my sister, do I? Not anymore._

Evangeline was fighting with a ferocity that she never realized that she possessed. She found herself quickly adapting to her surroundings so as not to give the pirate she was fighting the upper hand. There were times when Twigg would have it for a moment or so, but Evangeline never faltered; never so much as blinked an eye.

There was one thing that she was hiding as she was fighting, the one thing that she let fuel her, but not consume her. She was afraid. She was afraid that she might lose her brother in one fell swoop. She was afraid of the undead pirates they were fighting. She was especially afraid of the fight going on behind her going wrong, that the victor that would come out on top would be the man who started this in the first place, the man she despised: Barbossa.

From out of the corner of his eye, Jack watched Evangeline overcome her opponent, and couldn't help but feel his chest swell up with pride. Pride in the fact that his first mate had done well with her in teaching her how to defend herself. He noticed just how graceful she was when she was fighting (_Not that she isn't already_, he thought), and he could tell that it wasn't just her knowledge that drove her to fight like that. There was definitely something else there, but he couldn't figure it out.

Barbossa seemed to notice as well. "Seems yer lil' strumpet knows how to pick a fight," he taunted.

Jack glared at his former first mate. "You'd be wise to not call her that, _Hector_."

Barbossa smirked. "I just call 'em as I see 'em, Sparra."

The two fought their way up a hill, Jack fighting as hard as he could. If there was one thing he could admit, it was that Barbossa was an excellent swordsman. Not that he'd ever tell him that.

At some point in the battle, Barbossa threw his sword down and said, somewhat exasperated, "Ye can't beat me, Jack."

Jack smirked inwardly, knowing too well that he was right. _I can't beat you yet_, he thought. _But you can't beat me either, mate_.

To prove his point, Jack thrust his sword through Barbossa's stomach. The older pirate looked down at the weapon lodged in his body, and then rolled his eyes and sighed, while Jack feigned confusion. In a matter of seconds, Barbossa drew the sword from his body and ran Jack through.

This action did not go unnoticed by Evangeline, who was running to help Jack in the first place and was a mere few feet away.

"NO!" she screamed.

Seeing the smirk on Barbossa's face, she ran at him, her sword drawn. She raised the sword to deliver a blow, but the older pirate grabbed his sword quickly and parried her attack. They struggled against each other, their swords crossed, trying to outdo the other.

"It seems ye know how to handle a sword quite well, wench," Barbossa taunted her. "But there be little ye can do against me." With that, he pushed her back and slashed at her, cutting the top of her hand and causing her to drop her weapon.

"AH!" she cried out, feeling the sting on her hand.

Without hesitation, Barbossa grabbed a hold of her and turned her to where her back was against him, and pulled on her hair, causing her to look forward.

"Now, watch yer lover die..." Barbossa trailed off, the smirk on his grimy face disappearing. And Evangeline knew why.

In front of them, standing in the pale light of the full moon, stood a skeletal Jack, looking over himself with extreme curiosity.

"Well, that's interesting," he said, seemingly unfazed by what was happening.

_So that's what the curse does_, Evangeline thought. _No wonder Barbossa wants to get rid of it so badly_.

In between his bony fingers, she saw Jack twirl a medallion. When he caught it again, he looked a Barbossa with what looked like a smirk and said, "Couldn't resist, mate." He then glared at Barbossa's hold on Evangeline, and charged at him.

Noticing this, Barbossa thrust the girl towards Jack, who thankfully caught her before causing her any damage. She looked up him, scared to see a skeletal face looking down at her. Fortunately, she looked up to see his handsome face, his mustache, and braids. No ghostly appearance whatsoever.

"You alright, love?" he asked.

She merely nodded.

He smirked at her. "Seems I've made you quite speechless, eh?"

At that, she rolled her eyes and shoved off of him. He winked and then looked at his former first mate. "Now, where were we?" With that, he kicked Barbossa in the stomach, causing him to fall over and roll down the hill. Evangeline took the opportunity to grab her sword, and started to go after the man who nearly killed her captain, now three times. But a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"No, Evangeline," Jack said. "Leave him to me. You go help Will."

She looked at him, over to where her brother was fighting, and then back to him. She nodded and sighed. "Okay."

Jack nodded to her and then went after Barbossa. Evangeline looked over towards Will, who seemed to be having trouble with Twigg and the other pirates, and towards them. Will looked off to the side and saw her coming.

"Are you alright?" he called out to her.

"I'm fine," she said, dodging an attack from the tallest of the three pirates.

Will smirked a little. "What took you so long?"

"Uh...I got caught up in something. But it's been taken care of."

The two fought side by side, brother with sister, trying to keep their enemies at bay. They were doing fairly well...until the shortest of the three pirates, whose name Will learned is Jacoby, set off a cherry bomb. Both siblings noticed this, and jumped out of the way, thankfully before it caused a pile of treasure to explode. Will dropped his sword as he landed roughly on the ground, and just as he retrieved it, Jacoby had his sword in his face, ready to strike.

"I'll teach you the meanin' of pain," he said threateningly.

"You like pain?" a voice asked behind him.

He turned just as he was smacked by a golden pole, which was being held by an irritated Elizabeth.

"Try wearing a corset," she added.

Turning to Will, she swung the pole so that she could help Will up. They both watched as a skeletal Jack and Barbossa fought each other in one of the pools of water.

"What side is Jack on?" Elizabeth asked.

Will shrugged. "At the moment..."

Elizabeth turned and saw that Evangeline was taking on Twigg and the taller pirate, watching as she seemed to fight without breaking a sweat. Without hesitation, she went to her aid. She nudged the taller pirate with the golden pole, distracting him long enough to give him a good whack with the pole. Will joined the girls, trying to keep them at bay. By the time they had gotten them in a circle of moonlight, Jacoby was conscious again and joining the fight.

"There's no way we're going to win this if we don't lift the curse," Evangeline pointed out.

"Exactly," Will agreed with her. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. "I have a plan."

"What is it?" Elizabeth asked as she whacked Jacoby again.

"We're going to need that pole of yours, Elizabeth."

She looked at him confused, but eventually caught on. So did Evangeline.

"Don't worry," she said. "I'll line them up."

And she did just that. She was sure how she was able to do it, but she got them lined up just in time for Will and Elizabeth to thrust the pole through the three pirates, the taller one screaming in agony. The three stood back to get a good look at their handy work and watched as they struggled to remove the pole. Evangeline could help but giggle out how ridiculous it looked. She grabbed a cherry bomb from Jacoby and lit it up, handing it to Will. He smiled and stuck it into his ribcage, and then Will, Elizabeth, and Evangeline pushed the pirate kabob into the shadows.

Jacoby ran his hands over his chest, smoke coming out of his ears as the smoke of the bomb rose inside of him. The smoke even escaped from his mouth as he said, "No fair!"

In a matter of seconds, the three pirates exploded into pieces as the three of them ran away from the blast. Elizabeth and Will ran up to the stone chest while Evangeline ran around a huge pile of treasure.

Jack had seen the scene unfold, and quickly put the medallion in his hand and cut it, allowing his blood to get on the coin. He threw it to Will, who caught it easily.

To say the least, Barbossa was amused. To amuse himself even more, he pulled out his gun and aimed it at Evangeline, whose eyes widened.

Two shots rang out. Barbossa looked towards Jack as Evangeline fell to the floor. He saw the smoke coming from Jack's pistol and his expression. If looks could kill...

"Evangeline!" Will and Elizabeth exclaimed, the latter running to her side.

Still looking at Jack, Barbossa said, "Ten years, ye carried that pistol and now ye waste yer shot."

"He didn't waist it," Will called out.

Barbossa looked up at Will, who was holding both medallions, both covered in his and Jack's blood. He dropped them into the stone chest of Cortés.

The curse was lifted.

Barbossa looked back towards Jack, who was smirking. The older pirate dropped his weapons and pulled his jacket and vest back and noticed blood seeping from his wound. He looked back at Jack, a look of surprise plastered on his face.

"I feel," he whispered. "Cold."

"Good," Jack muttered. He watched as Barbossa fell to the floor, the life leaving his eyes. "Now feel that in hell."

Jack put his gun back into his sash and ran over to join Will and Elizabeth at Evangeline's side. Will was wrapping a bit of cloth around his sister's shoulder.

"How is she?" he asked.

Will looked up at Jack. "She'll be fine. It only went into her shoulder." He shook his head. "We need to get that bullet out."

Jack nodded.

Elizabeth, who was holding Evangeline's head in her lap, looked up. "We should return to the _Dauntless_," she said.

Will looked at her, and nodded. "Your fiancé will be wanting to know you're safe."

Elizabeth gave him a slight nod, and then carefully set Evangeline's head down. She rose up from her spot and ran out of the cave.

Will watched her leave, and then turned back towards his sister.

Jack squatted down next to Evangeline, moving a lock of her hair out of her face. She was pale from the amount of blood she had lost, paler than he had ever seen her. He gently picked her up bridal style, mindful of her shoulder.

"We need to get her to the _Pearl_," he said to Will, who merely nodded.

Jack looked at the boy, noticing the hurt and confusion gracing his features. Jack sighed, knowing what that look was for. As they were walking out of the room to the boats, he said to Will, "If you were waiting for the opportune moment…that was it."

Will sighed, knowing he was right. But at the moment, he was more worried about Evangeline.

The two joined Elizabeth at the boats, who was already getting one ready to be cast off. Will and Jack, with an unconscious Evangeline in tow, climbed aboard and made their way out of the cave.

Everyone was silent, each person praying that Evangeline would be okay. Jack watched as she slept, making sure that she was still breathing. He knew that she had been through so much, and hoped she wouldn't have to suffer for long. They would get to the _Black Pearl_ and Gibbs could help him take care of her. Jack moved some of her hair out of her face and then placed a small kiss on her forehead.

_Don't worry, love,_ he thought. _You'll be alright. I'll take care of you._

As the boat turned a corner out of the lagoon, Jack looked up so that he could get a good look at the ship he could once again claim. But, to his dismay, his ship was nowhere to be seen.

_Bugger, _he thought.

"I'm sorry, Jack," he heard Elizabeth say.

Jack kept looking ahead of them as Will began to row them to the _Dauntless_. "They done what's right by them," he said. "Can't expect more than that."

No one said anything to that. They sat in silence as the _Dauntless_ came into view. Will wanted to tell Jack that he could expect more, but he knew that would do no good.

They all knew what would happen once they were aboard the ship. Jack would be thrown in the brig, possibly Will as well, and Elizabeth and Evangeline wouldn't be able to leave the Governor and Commodore's side. As soon as they were on that ship and back in Port Royal, they would all go their separate ways. The only one who wasn't suspecting any of this was Evangeline. As they rowed on, the _Dauntless_ looming over head, she fell into a fitful sleep.

No one was looking forward to telling her the truth when she woke up. No one was willing to tell her that there was a chance she wouldn't see Jack again.

* * *

A/N: Please don't kill me! It had to be done. Don't worry, Evangeline will be alright. I promise. And it may not seem like it, but Jack IS concerned and worried for her.

_Jack: _*eyes widen* _Am not._

_Me:_ *sarcastically* Yeah, okay. Keep telling yourself that, Captain.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter nonetheless, and I really hope I did the fight scene justice. I had fun writing it, especially the part when the three pirates get turned into a pirate shish-kabob. I always found that hilarious. Please, leave me some feedback, as I enjoy your reviews immensely. They also motivate me to keep writing, so...yeah. Let me know what you think, and don't forget to join me on Facebook, where we shall have a magnificent garden party! You're all invited! (_I've been wanting to use that forever!_) Link's on my profile XD

~Xanthe :3


	11. He's A Pirate

Author's Note: Didn't expect this so quickly, huh? I actually had this typed up and edited yesterday, but I had graduation to go to today and needed to get a good night's sleep. So, now it's official. I'm a graduate :)

So, thank you to everyone who took the time to read this lovely story, favorited it, and are following it. Huge thank you to the following reviewers: **Guest, Upisdowngirl, Pizzapig, Gothic Unicorn,** and **linalove**. Thank you so much for the support

And a huge, HUGE thank you to **dionne dance** for leaving me the long PM's with all of those suggestions. I really appreciate it, and it made me think a lot about where I'm going with this story. We apparently see eye to eye, because half of the suggestions you made I was already planning on doing. So...thank you. And because of all of your help, I'm dedicating this chapter to you, my dear :)

Now that over, shall we get on with the chapter? Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** As has been stated before. I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Sadly, I don't own Captain Jack Sparrow, either. But I do know of a restaurant where one of the waiters dresses up as Captain Jack. *sigh* It's just not the same.

* * *

**Chapter Eleven: He's A Pirate**

Evangeline's eyes fluttered open to a fresh, clean cabin, with white curtains covering a small window. She tried to sit up but someone stopped her.

"No, don't move," Will said.

She turned towards the voice. "Will?" she asked.

"You'll pull at the stitches," he said.

Evangeline gave him a puzzled look. _Stitches?_ she wondered. _What does he mean by that?_ She sat up further, and that's when she realized what he meant. She winced, feeling a sudden pain in her left shoulder. That's when she remembered that Barbossa had shot her.

"Ah," she gasped.

"Here, let me," Will said. He propped up the pillows behind her so that she could sit up.

"Thank you," Evangeline said. "Where are we? Are we aboard the _Pearl_?"

Will's expression faltered. "No. We're aboard the _Dauntless_."

"Oh," she said, feeling a bit upset over the idea. Looking around, she realized that she was in the cabin she was given when she first boarded the _Dauntless_. "So, Jack got the _Pearl _back and is safe."

Her brother's expression remained grim. "No. Jack's here. The crew aboard the _Pearl_ sailed away after they had overcome Barbossa's men."

Evangeline looked shocked to say the least. "What?! You mean, they just left without Jack?"

Will merely nodded. "Elizabeth said she tried to convince them to stay, but they said they had to stick to the Code."

"Bloody pirates. Bloody Code!"

"Evangeline, Jack's in the brig."

Her brow became knotted with worry. "He's…in the brig? After everything he's done, they throw him in the brig?"

Will sighed. "He's still a pirate."

"Damn to the depths the thought of him being a pirate!" Evangeline shouted. "He's a good man! He helped save Elizabeth for God sakes!"

Will shook his head. "He has too many crimes against him."

Evangeline fought to keep her tears at bay. She knew what would happen to him when they arrived at Port Royal, but that didn't mean that she had to accept it. Taking a deep breath, she asked, "And they didn't put you in the brig?"

"No. The Governor granted me clemency."

Evangeline nodded. "I see. So you'll go back to being a blacksmith."

It was his turn to nod. "Yes. And you'll go and live with Elizabeth in the mansion."

"So you've heard."

"Elizabeth told me."

Evangeline looked at her brother, and noticed his crestfallen expression. "I'm sorry, Will. How are you…?"

Will looked up at her. "I'm fine. Really, I am."

She gave him a small smile. "That's good."

"What about you?"

"Me?"

He nodded. "Yes. I mean…you don't seem to hate me anymore."

Evangeline sighed. "Willy, I never hated you. I just…I felt abandoned. I was upset, but I never hated you for what you did."

"So you forgive me?"

"Yes. But, Will…can you forgive me?" She couldn't keep back her tears anymore.

"What do you mean?"

"I've…I've just been so horrible to you," she explained in between sobs. "And when you asked me what was wrong, what had happened while you were gone, I…I just shut you out."

Will sat closer to her, and careful of her wound, he pulled her into a comforting hug. "Shh. Shh. It's okay, Ev. I forgive you. Just…tell me what happened. I want to understand."

She looked up at him, her eyes wide and shaking her head. "Will, I…"

"Please?"

Evangeline took a deep breath. Without another moment's hesitation, she told him everything.

xxx

By the time they were halfway through their voyage, Evangeline had recovered from her wound and was able to walk around the ship. She was quite glad to be rid of her cabin, seeing as it was getting quite stuffy, even with the window open.

She had quite the number of visitors while she was on bed rest, Will and Elizabeth being her frequent ones. She was visited by the quarrelling duo of Murtogg and Mullroy, the two officers who had accompanied Jack to the helm not but two days ago. She loved their visits, listening to their stories and then rolling her eyes whenever they'd argue. She was even visited by Groves, Norrington and the Governor, who had excused her behavior, seeing as she only ran off to help her brother.

But, now that she was out of the confines of her cabin, there was one person she was really wanting to see.

With Murtogg and Mullroy's help, she was able to find the brig with no problem. When they got there, her eyes roamed through the dimly-lit room until she found the cell she was looking for. There, in a cell in the very back corner, she could see Jack lounging on a bench, leaning up against the bars with one leg propped up on the bench and the other dangling onto the floor. His back was to her, so he didn't see her until she was right in front of the cell.

"Jack," she said through the bars.

At her voice, he paused in examining his nails and turned to face her. He smirked. "'Ello darlin'."

"I'm sorry about the _Pearl_. Will told me everything."

Jack got up from the bench and walked to the bars to lean on them, right across from her. "It's alright, love," he said. "They were followin' the Code. Couldn't expect any more than that."

"But you're their captain. Our captain." She whispered her last statement.

"The Code's the Code. It's the law for pirates," he explained.

Evangeline nodded. "I see." Absentmindedly, she began playing with his two braids.

Jack couldn't help but smirk at her action. After a moment's thought, he said, "I would have taken you with me."

Evangeline looked at him. "What?"

"On the _Pearl_. I would have taken you with me. I wanted you to be a part of me crew."

She smiled genuinely, something she didn't do very often. And Jack liked it.

"Really?" she asked. "You mean it?"

"Every word, love."

If it were possible, her smile grew even bigger.

"How's the arm?"

Evangeline shrugged. "Still hurts, but it's getting better. Hopefully, I'll be out of the sling by the time we reach Port Royal."

At the mention of Port Royal, both of them felt their hearts grow heavy. This would probably be the last time they would see each other before the hanging. Silence grew between them, making it even more unbearable for them.

"How long until we get there?"

"Three days. This isn't the _Interceptor _or the _Black Pearl_, Jack."

Jack smirked at the thought. Both grew silent once again.

The silence was killing Evangeline. "Jack," she began, but never finished.

Hearing someone cough behind her, she turned to face the two officers who had accompanied her. Realizing what they were meaning, she sighed, and looked back at Jack.

"Being called away, eh?" Jack teased.

She merely nodded with a sad smile. "Thank you, Jack."

The pirate knew what she was talking about, but couldn't help but wondered. "For what?"

Evangeline gave him a small smile and, leaning into the bars and pulling him closer, she gave him a lingering kiss on the cheek. "For everything," she whispered.

The feeling of her breath on his skin caused Jack to shudder and his eyes to close. But the feeling went as quickly as it came, because by the time he opened his eyes, she was gone.

Jack looked around the brig to catch a glimpse of her retreating figure, but she was nowhere to be seen.

He couldn't help but grin. He sat back down on the bench with only one thing going through his mind.

_I would have done it all over again, love_, was that thought.

xxx

If there was one thing Evangeline didn't miss in her time in the asylum or while at sea, it was the corset she was currently wearing. But, seeing as she was accustomed to wearing one, it didn't really affect her breathing one bit. And she wasn't in a sling anymore, so that was a plus.

But, Evangeline didn't want to be here at all. Since she was now living with the Governor and Elizabeth in the mansion, she had been practically forced to attend Jack's hanging.

Across from her, Jack stood on the platform to the gallows, his hands bound in front of him. He stood there, facing the crowd and staring off into the distance as the official read off his crimes.

"Jack Sparrow," the official began.

"Captain. _Captain_ Jack Sparrow," she whispered.

Evangeline tuned out the official, not really wanting to listen to all of the crimes Jack was being charged with. She was sure that he didn't commit half of the crimes, that he was just being blamed for them.

_Wouldn't surprise me if they did_, she thought.

She opened up the fan she was carrying with her and started to fan herself furiously. In the Caribbean sun, she was baking. The light blue gown and matching gloves she was wearing didn't really help much either. At least her hair was pulled up.

From out of the corner of her eye, Evangeline saw movement in the crowd, as if someone was pushing through everyone to get away.

That someone was Will. She watched as he made his way through the crowd to where she, the Governor, Norrington, and Elizabeth were standing.

Once over there, he looked to each of them, giving them a greeting.

"Governor Swann," he said, nodding. "Commodore." He nodded to him as well.

Both men glanced at him, and nodded back.

Will then turned to Elizabeth. "Elizabeth."

She looked at him, surprised he had actually used her name instead of calling her "Miss Swann".

"I should have told you every day from the moment I met you…" he said. "I love you."

Elizabeth's eyes widened in surprise. The Governor and Commodore looked between the two, their eyes landing on Elizabeth. Evangeline looked at her brother, giving him a small smile of encouragement.

_It's about bloody time,_ she thought.

In a split second, Will walked away, shoving through the crowd to get to the gallows.

_What's he doing?_ Evangeline wondered.

That's when she heard it. A squawk. She looked in the direction the noise was coming from and spotted a blue and yellow macaw. Her eyes widened.

_That's Cotton's parrot! That means…_ She couldn't help but smile. _The _Black Pearl_ is here._

Evangeline looked over at Elizabeth, whose eyes were wide with realization. She had seen the parrot as well.

There was a commotion coming from the crowd, people shouting and yelling at being pushed and shoved. Norrington noticed the commotion, and stepped down the steps.

"Marines!" he shouts the beginnings of an order, which are cut short.

"I can't breathe," Elizabeth said, and fell to the floor, pretending to faint.

This stopped the Commodore in the middle of his tracks, rushing to her aid, as well as the Governor.

"Elizabeth!" Swann exclaims.

Everything happened so quickly that it made Evangeline's head spin. She watched as the executioner put the noose around Jack's neck. She saw him pull the lever allowing the floor to give way. She saw, with great relief, Will throw his sword right on time to create a footing for Jack, which he landed on with no problem.

Evangeline felt as though her breath had completely left her at the sight of Jack struggle to stay upright on the sword while Will fought the executioner. She released the breath she was holding when she saw him cut the rope, releasing Jack.

The entire fort was in an uproar. The town's citizens were running, trying to get out of the fort while soldiers were running towards Will and Jack, trying to subdue them. By now, Elizabeth had "recovered" and the four of them were heading for the battlements.

When they made it over there, Evangeline noticed that the soldiers had them completely surrounded.

Norrington made it to the front of the group, sword drawn and facing Will and Jack.

"I thought we might have to endure some ill-conceived manner of escape attempt," he said. Looking to Will, he added, "But not from you."

"On our return to Port Royal," Swann interjected. "I granted you clemency, and this is how you thank me? By throwing in your lot with him? He's a pirate."

"And a good man," Will argued, throwing his weapon down. "If all I have achieved here is that the hangman will earn two pairs of boots instead of one…so be it. At least my conscience will be clear."

Norrington took a step closer. "You forget your place, Turner."

"It's right here—between you and Jack."

Elizabeth stepped away from the group and stood next to Will. "As is mine," she said.

"And mine," Evangeline added, walking next to her new friend.

"Elizabeth," the Governor said in disbelief. Looking at the soldiers around him, he said. "Lower your weapons! For goodness sake, put them down!"

The Commodore stood stock still. "So this…is where your heart truly lies, then?" he asked Elizabeth, though it sounded more like a statement.

She nodded. "It is."

He lowered his weapon as well.

Jack looked over Will's shoulder and saw Cotton's parrot fly away. He couldn't help but smile.

"Well," he said before anyone got the idea to arrest him again. "I'm actually feeling rather good about this." He walked up to Governor Swann and added, "I think we've all arrived at a very special place, eh? Spiritually, ecumenically, grammatically…"

He walked over to Norrington and said, "I want you to know that I was rooting for you, mate. Know that."

Jack walked over to where Will, Elizabeth, and Evangeline were standing. "Elizabeth," she said.

She looked at him expectantly.

"It would have never worked out between us, darlin'. I'm sorry."

Evangeline couldn't help but giggle at Elizabeth's expression. He looked to her and grabbed her hand, pulling her away from them. He stared down into her azure orbs, which were swimming with mirth. All sadness had been washed away.

"I'd ask ye to come with me, love," he said low enough for her to hear. "But seeing as how you're on the mend and all…"

Evangeline smiled. "Jack," she began. But she never got to finish.

He gave her one of his trademark smirk, and then stole a quick kiss. "Keep a weather eye out, savvy?" With that, he walked off, leaving a shocked Evangeline to watch him.

Jack stopped, as if remembering something. "Will," he said. Will turned to him, expecting some words of thanks. "Nice hat," Jack finally said, not being able to come up with anything else, and ran towards the edge of the battlements.

Will could only smile.

The soldiers followed Jack as he got closer to the edge. The pirate turned to face them all, saying, "Friends! This is the day that you will always remember as the day you—" He was cut off as he plunged towards the water below.

Evangeline gasped and ran over to the edge of the cliff. Once over there, she saw that he missed the rocks and came up safely. She smiled, happy that he was able to escape. But her smile didn't last long. Someone bumped into her, causing her to lose her footing and topple over the edge.

"AH!" she screamed as she plummeted towards the ocean waves below.

Her fall was over in a second. She barely had time to take a breath before she hit the water, the salty liquid filling her lungs. The sensation caused her to shoot back up to the surface, coughing and sputtering up water. She nearly went under again, if it weren't for the strong hands that had grabbed a hold of her. She turned to see that it was Jack.

"Jack!" she exclaimed.

"Easy, love," he said. "Keep calm."

Evangeline stopped struggling and put her arms around him.

He smirked. "I knew dotty belles like you fell for me, but I never thought you would literally."

Evangeline smacked his arm and rolled her eyes.

Jack chuckled. "Careful of your arm, love."

"It's fine."

"Sail ho!" they heard someone shout.

Evangeline looked to Jack, and then followed his gaze. Coming towards them was the looming hull of the _Black Pearl_.

_I knew they couldn't stay away,_ she thought. _I knew they would come back._

She turned to Jack, who was smiling. Feeling her eyes on him, he turned to face her. "Ready to go, darlin'?"

She nodded. "Yes," she said.

They began to swim towards the ship. Jack looked back towards Evangeline, who was lagging behind. "I have to tell you, love," he said. "It might be difficult to swim with that gown on. Might I suggest—"

"No, Jack," she interrupted. "That's not an option."

He chuckled and continued to swim, with Evangeline following slowly behind him.

When they were close enough, the crew threw out some rope, which Jack took a hold of. He wrapped an arm around Evangeline's waist and tugged on the rope, signaling to the crew that they were ready. The crew managed to haul them out of the water and onto the deck of the _Pearl_, in the helm, the two landing with a soft thud.

Jack looked around, a little disoriented, until a shadow crossed over him. He looked up to see Gibbs standing above him. Evangeline looked up as well and smiled.

"I thought you were supposed to keep to the Code?" he questioned his first mate.

Gibbs shrugged. "Figured they were actual guidelines," he said as he helped his captain up off the deck.

With Jack standing, the first mate handed him his hat. Jack took it with much gratitude and put it on. He then turned around and offered his hand to Evangeline. She looked up at him and took it without hesitation. Once up, the two made eye contact, and she was instantly lost in his eyes.

_What is it about his eyes that is so…alluring?_ she wondered.

It felt like they had been standing there for eternity, dark, chocolate brown staring into ocean blue, still hand-in-hand. Their trance was only broken by Ana Maria.

"Captain Sparrow," she said, getting both their attention. She walked up to Jack and placed his coat on his shoulders. "The _Black Pearl_ is yours."

Evangeline watched as Jack walked up to the wheel, stroking the wood as if it were just a dream, as if it weren't really there. She couldn't help but smile, happy for him that he got his ship back.

Realizing he wasn't alone, Jack looked to his crew and called out, "On deck, you scabrous dogs! Hands to the braces! Let go and haul to run free!"

Everyone took off to carry out their captain's orders. Jack looked over to Evangeline and then called out, "Mr. Gibbs!"

"Aye, Cap'n?" the first mate asked, climbing back up the stairs leading to the helm.

"Take Miss Turner and find her a change of clothes. Also get a cabin set up for her. If she's to work aboard my vessel, she'll not be sleeping with the crew."

"Aye, Cap'n." Gibbs walked up to Evangeline, smiling from ear to ear. "Come along, lass."

Evangeline smiled, happy to be with her friend's uncle once again. "Aye, aye, sir," she said. As they walked away, Evangeline looked back towards Jack, who had taken out his compass and then turned the wheel. She didn't miss the smile that formed on his lips.

It took a while, but the two managed to find her a white shirt and black vest, along with a pair of dark blue, almost black trousers and grey shoes. They weren't like the boots she had left behind in Port Royal, but they would do.

As soon as she was changed and settled in her cabin, she went up to the main deck and began to work. Gibbs had her relieve Marty in the crow's nest, letting her borrow his spy glass. She climbed up the rigging, letting Marty know it was her turn.

Once alone, she leaned against the railing, staring out at the open ocean, the dark blue surrounding them. She chanced a glance down towards the helm, seeing Jack taking control, shouting orders and keeping the _Pearl_ on course.

_He's in his element_, she thought.

Evangeline turned back towards the water and pulled out the spyglass to take a look around. Not seeing anything worth reporting, she put the spyglass away and sat down on the lone chair. She propped her feet up and began to hum the tune Elizabeth had taught her and Jack not too long ago. The same tune her mother had taught her when she was still alive.

She sang, "_Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me_."

Evangeline took a deep breath and smiled. For the first time in her life, she actually felt free.

Because that's the _Black Pearl_ was. Freedom.

* * *

A/N: There you have it. Another chapter down. Hopefully this keeps you guys occupied (except for those of you who are speed readers) until the next chapter. *gets questioning looks* What? I have to write other chapters for my other stories too, ya know. And, thanks to **linalove**, I now have an art project, which I'm really excited about. If you haven't read any of her work, you should. It's **REALLY** good, so check it out, especially her Dark Shadows fics _Age of Innocence_ and _Out of Control_. They're my favorites.

If you didn't already know, I have a Facebook page. So stop by for updates, photos, and more!

Well...that's all I've got to say. So...don't forget to leave me some feedback. I love feedback. For me, it's like a banana split. Absolutely enjoyable, and it makes me happy. And flames...well, let's just say I let my haters be my motivators, so HA!

~Xanthe :3


	12. A Trip to Tripoli

Author's Note: I've got a jar of dirt, I've got a jar of dirt...Oh, hi there! *laughs nervously* Well, I'm embarrassed that you caught me in the middle of singing. Then again, people who know me know that that's not hard to do, considering sometimes I do break into song in the middle of whatever I'm doing at work. Trifles.

So, here's the nex chapter guys! *fanfare* This chapter acts as a bridge in between COTBP and DMC. Yes, that means I'm writing about Tripoli _and_ the Navy chasing the _Pearl_ across the Atlantic and getting caught in the hurricane. And a little on how Jack is acting strange...er. But...I'm not going into a lot of detail, mainly because I have so much planned out for this portion of the series. And let me tell you, it won't be all sunshine and rainbows. That's just not how life works.

Thanks to those who have taken the time to read this, along with adding it to their favorites. It makes me happy to know that you are taking the time to read what i put out there. And a huge thank, hug, and kiss to those who have left me reviews: **Figment of Imagery, dionne dance, Pizzapig, Guest, Guest, xxz0eyxx, linalove, Upisdowngirl, Guest, camierose, ZabuzasGirl, **and **Friedrich Nietzsche**. Rum and sparrow-shaped pumpkin pasties for you (_if you have any idea to what I just referenced, I will send a little dancing Kirby through a PM to you. So make sure, you're signed in :3_). I personally made them, and they are delicious!

Replies to Guest Reviews:  
_Guest 1: I'm glad you like it. I found your review very interesting to say the least, and not in a bad way! I've never seen Shutter Island before, so I'll take your word for it :3  
Guest 2: Glad you are liking it :)  
xxz0eyxx: You're not logged in, chica! Anywho...thank you for the review. And don't worry, DMC will come either halfway through the next chapter, or after that. Not too long now :3  
Guest 3: Not quite navy. It's actually a shade darker than that, but still not black. But you were close, and I give you props for that! And thank you! Yay, I have a fan! :3_

Okay, I think I got everything...wait...yeah, that's it. Enjoy the chapter!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean. I would not be writing this if that were the case. I would be aboard the _Black Pearl_, sailing the seas with Captain Jack Sparrow and drinking rum and having a jolly old time! But, I don't...so...yeah...:(

* * *

**Chapter Twelve: A Trip to Tripoli**

_~Two Weeks Later~_

Evangeline knocked on the cabin door, waiting for Jack to allow her entrance. There was no answer, so she knocked again.

"Captain?" she called out.

Still no answer.

She took a deep breath and turned the handle on the door, while balancing the breakfast tray in her other hand. She poked her head into the dimly lit cabin and squinted her eyes into the darkness. She didn't see the captain, so she carefully tiptoed inside and closed the door behind her.

"Jack?" she called out.

She heard a grumble and then a rustle. She looked off to her left, where she knew the captain's bed was. Shaking her head, she walked over to the table in the back of the cabin, where Jack kept all of his charts, and placed the tray on it. Evangeline then walked over to the bed and shook the pirate's shoulder.

"Jack," she said. "Wake up."

The captain stirred, but did nothing else.

Evangeline huffed. _Stubborn man,_ she thought.

Even in the dim light of the cabin, she could still make out the contours of his tattooed back, every scar that he had ever received. It was all laid out to bare on his shirtless torso. The sight stirred feelings in her that she had never had before. At least, not before a few weeks ago, when they were trapped on that island.

Although she didn't really want to, for her own selfish reasons, Evangeline shook on his shoulder again, harder this time.

"Captain," she said a bit louder. "You need to wake up. You have a ship to run."

Jack turned over onto his back, most likely to see who had interrupted his sleep. He opened one of his kohl lined eyes, and smirked.

"Morning, darlin'," he muttered.

"Good morning to you, too, Captain," she said politely. "Slept well, I hope?"

Jack lifted his head, and looked her up and down. "Very."

"Well, as pleasant a sleep as it seems to have been, you still need to get up. You are captain, after all. Unless you want to leave Gibbs command over the ship."

Jack was awake all of a sudden. His eyes widened, and he sat up quickly. "No, I'd rather not."

Evangeline smiled. "No, I thought not." She gestured over to the table where she had placed the tray. "I've brought you some breakfast. It's not much, but I worked with what we had."

He smirked. "Thank you, love." With that, he rode from the bed. It was then that she realized, with wide eyes, that he wasn't wearing trousers.

"Jack!" she squealed as she turned away quickly, covering her eyes. She could feel the heat rising to her cheeks.

He looked down, and then back to her with wide eyes. "Apologies, darlin'."

Evangeline never looked back towards him. She could hear the padding of his feet against the wood of the floor, most likely pulling on some trousers for her sake. As he pulled on his shirt, he looked back at her, and chuckled.

"You can look now, love."

Timidly, Evangeline looked over her shoulder to make sure that he was telling the truth. When she saw that he was wrapping his sash across his waist, she turned to face him.

Silence fell in the cabin. They stood there, merely staring at each other. Blue met with dark brown, and the eye contact was held for a good while. Evangeline wanted to look away, but as she found, she couldn't. She was just as lost in her captain's eyes as the first time she actually looked at him.

Eventually, she tore her eyes away and looked around the cabin. She could still feel his eyes on her, and began to fidget. She coughed, which broke him from his trance-like state.

"What?" he asked.

"Um…so…do we have a heading?" Evangeline asked.

"Ah," he nodded. "Yes."

When he didn't provide any more information, she asked, "Where are we heading?"

Jack sat down in the chair next to the table and pulled on his boots. "Turkey. But, as according to you, we'll have to make a stop in Tripoli."

Evangeline became excited at that. "Turkey?" she asked. "Really?"

"Aye," he said. "Have something I need to pick up." Jack stood up and grabbed the banana from the tray. He peeled it open and began to devour it.

Her curiosity got the better of her. "What is this 'something' you have to find?"

The pirate looked at her as he pulled on his coat and effects. One look in her eyes, and he could see the all of the excitement in the eager, younger Turner sibling's eyes. He grabbed his hat and put it on. He contemplated on whether or not he should tell her. "That, love," he said. "Is for me to know, and for you to find out."

Evangeline's expression fell. "Oh."

He didn't know how she did it, but he felt guilty at her crestfallen expression. He frowned.

_**You should tell her**_, his inner voice told him.

_Tell her what?_ _Tell her that I'm looking for a way to get out of me debt?_

_**She should know**__. __**After all, you admitted that you love her. So, tell her!**_

_I never admitted it to her, though._

_**It'll make it easier on the both of you.**_

Jack shook his thoughts away. He opened his mouth to say something, but she beat him to it. "I'll go inform Gibbs, then."

Evangeline turned from him and exited the cabin. She was greeted by a smiling Marty, who had thanked her for breakfast, and a nice gentle breeze. She took a deep breath, taking in the combination of seawater and a hint of dirt and fresh water. Knowing what that meant, she headed for the galley, hoping that Gibbs was still there. She never made it there, because the older pirate had called to her from the helm.

"Evangeline!" she heard him call.

She turned and smiled, walking up the stairs leading up to the helm.

"Where's Jack?" he asked her as she walked up to him.

"In his cabin," she said. "I suspect that he'll be up here in a moment."

"Did he give a heading?"

Evangeline nodded. "We're to head for Tripoli. And then after that, Turkey."

Gibbs looked confused. "Why would we need to go there?" He had been to Turkey once before, when he still worked for the Navy, but he didn't believe it was anything special.

"I don't know. I asked him, but he didn't say anything."

Gibbs shot her a concerned look, an expression she had missed. He shrugged. "I'm sure he has his reasons."

Evangeline nodded in agreement. "I'm sure he does. No one truly knows what's going on in his head, do they?"

"Nay," the older pirate said in response. "And it'll do you no good to try an' figure him out."

If there was one thing she had learned in the two weeks she had been sailing with Jack, it was that he was strange indeed.

But that never deterred the feelings she seemed to have towards him.

_What is it about him that makes me feel this way?_ she wondered. _Why am I so worried that he didn't tell me about that item he's looking for?_

Gibbs watched as Evangeline stared off into the distance. He noticed how her face seemed to contort into worry as she became lost in her thoughts. He knew that she and the captain had become fast friends, having witnessed it firsthand. He wondered what she could possibly be thinking, but upon seeing Jack emerge from the cabin, he gently shook her shoulder.

"Ye alright lass?" he asked.

Evangeline shook her head to clear her somewhat foggy mind. "Yeah," she muttered. "I'm fine."

The first mate nodded. "Well, best get to yer duties then," he said.

She nodded and made her way down to the galley to clean it from breakfast. For that was one of her duties. On top of helping the crew as much as possible, she was in charge of the washing and helping Gibbs in the galley during meals.

As she made her way below decks, she missed a certain pair of dark eyes watching her from the helm.

xxx

_~One Month Later~_

"Land ho!"

Evangeline heard the call from the crow's nest from her cabin. She quickly put her boots on and grabbed her effects. Before opening her door, she knocked. Since there were really no other cabins, and there was no way she was sleeping in the crew's quarters, Jack had given her the side cabin right off of his. The downside to it was that she had to walk through his cabin to get in and out. She didn't really want to walk in on anything she shouldn't.

When no one answered, she deemed it safe to exit, and quickly did so. When she was out on the deck, she ran over to the starboard rail. She pulled out the spyglass she had acquired on one trip to Tortuga and looked through it. There, a few miles out, were the shores of Tripoli.

She could barely contain her excitement. Evangeline had never really been anywhere other than London, Port Royal, and Tortuga, so she was eager to see new places. So eager, in fact, that she nearly ran into Jack as she turned to help the crew.

"Whoa," he said. "Slow down, darlin'."

Evangeline could feel the heat rise in her cheeks. "Sorry, Captain."

"Evangeline, how many times do I have to tell you call me Jack?"

She smiled. "One more time couldn't hurt."

In the past month, the two of them had gotten close. Jack would tell her stories about his adventures, and she would make it a game to call his bluff on the ones that sounded exaggerated. During the night, they would sit at his desk and she would read to him one of the many secret books he kept in his cabin, most of the time while he was looking at a map. They would sit there and discuss them as well. They had become fast friends.

Jack couldn't help but smirk. "Come with me, love," he said, gesturing to the cabin.

She quirked an eyebrow, but followed nonetheless. As they walked in, Evangeline shut the door, giving them privacy. She wasn't sure if it was a private matter, but she figured it was better to be safe than sorry.

_He has been acting a bit stranger than he normally acts_, she mused.

"Anything wrong, Jack?"

He quickly turned to face her, his trademark smirk gracing his features. "And why would there be anything wrong, Ev?"

She couldn't help but smile at the way he shortened her name. "I don't know," she said. "You've just been acting stranger than usual."

"Me? Strange? Perish the thought."

Evangeline gave him her tell-the-truth-now look. "Really, Jack?"

"Well, there isn't anything wrong at the moment."

"Then what did you need?"

He walked up closer to her. "I have something for you."

Her eyebrows rose in surprise. "Me?"

"Aye. Turn around." He made a spinning motion with his finger.

Evangeline nodded did as she was told. Her eyes widened in the next second as she saw Jack reach around with something in his hands. She caught sight of it fairly quickly; it was a silver necklace with a sparrow pendant. On the sparrow's breast was a blue stone that seemed to sparkle in the candle light. She gasped at the sudden gift.

"Jack, is this—?"

"For you," he whispered in her ear. The tickle of his warm breath caused a shudder to run through her slender frame.

He placed the necklace on her neck and clasped it in the back, all the while his fingers brushing against her soft skin. Another shudder on her part.

"It's secure, love," he said.

She turned around and faced him. She smiled, and then headed for her cabin to get a good look in the mirror. She couldn't believe her eyes. The silver of the piece of jewelry seemed to glow against her porcelain skin (despite her time in the sun) and the blue of the stone brought out her eyes.

She was too busy staring at it that she didn't notice Jack walk in behind her.

"It suits you, love," he said.

Evangeline turned to face him, a smile plastered on her face. "It's beautiful. I love it."

Jack smirked. "I'm glad."

She walked up to him, wrapping her arms around him in hug. "Thank you," she said.

He put his arms around her waist, returning the hug. "You're welcome, Ev."

Evangeline broke from the hug and smiled up at him. They stayed like that for a good while, content to be in each other's company.

Then something crossed Jack's mind—the reason they were going to Turkey.

_I need to tell her,_ he thought.

"Evangeline, there's —"

The captain was interrupted by the sound of a knock on his cabin door. "Cap'n?" Gibbs called from the other side.

Jack sighed. _Bugger._

There was another knock, at which Evangeline nudged the unmoving pirate. "Jack, you should probably answer that," she said.

He nodded and walked away from her.

Evangeline looked back towards her mirror and put a hand on the pendant.

_That's one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me_, she thought.

_**Not only that,**_ her inner voice stated. _**But he's also saved your life. Twice.**_

_True, but no one's ever given me a gift like this. Sean never did, even when we were courting._

Evangeline sighed. After everything that had happened, she was still thinking about her late husband. Even in death, it seemed that he haunted her every thought. She still had nightmares about him and the asylum.

She shook her head. _I can't dwell on it anymore. I need to move on, and that's what I'm going to do._

Evangeline was broken out of her thoughts by a small rap on her door. She turned and saw that it was Gibbs.

"We're docking," he said.

She nodded. "Right. I'm coming."

With that, she followed Gibbs out and joined the crew in their search for supplies.

xxx

A few hours had passed and most of the provisions had been bought. The rest of what they needed would be delivered in the morning. With that knowledge, Jack gave everyone the opportunity to have a few hours of shore leave, as long as they were back at the _Pearl _to load her.

Jack looked around, searching for the only woman left on board. After the _Black Pearl_ had been retrieved, the captain had kept to his word and _commandeered_ a ship for Ana Maria, one as grand as the _Interceptor_ had been. When he didn't see the raven haired woman he was looking for, he knew there was only one other place she could be.

_The crow's nest, _he thought with a smirk.

He carefully climbed the ratline until he made it to the crow's nest. Sure enough, Evangeline stood at the railing, looking out to towards sinking sun.

"Somethin' on your mind, love?" he asked.

Evangeline turned around quickly to see who the intruder was. When she saw that it was only him, she smiled. "How did you know?"

"You always seem to come up here when you're troubled."

"I was just thinking."

Jack walked over and leaned on the rail next to her. "Care to tell me what about?"

Evangeline looked back out towards the water. "It's just…after all those stories you've told me about my father, I can't help but wonder." She took a deep breath, fighting back tears. "Do you think that he would be proud of me? Of who I've become?"

The question took Jack by surprise. "Uh…darlin', I'm sure he would be. Probably wouldn't be keen on you becoming a pirate, but otherwise…"

"You really think so?" she asked, turning towards him.

"I'm certain. Take Gibbs, for example. I know he's proud of you."

She smiled. "You're right. I mean, after everything that's happened, he's like a father to me."

"Of course I am," Jack said. "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow!"

Evangeline giggled. "Of course."

"And if it's any consolation, love, he thinks of you as a daughter."

"I'm glad."

The wind picked up a bit as the two talked, causing some locks of Evangeline's hair to be blown into her face. Jack reached and pushed it back behind her ear, gently brushing his fingers across her cheek. Her breath hitched at the touch of his skin on hers. She looked up at the captain, whose eyes were darting across her face and then to her lips. He licked his lips, and then looked into her eyes, those pools of deep blue, reminding him of the sea that he loved.

Without really thinking, Jack leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. He pulled back slightly and noticed that Evangeline had closed her eyes, her breath picking up slightly, and that her body shook a little. He smirked and then captured her soft lips with his, pulling her into a slow kiss. Only a tad hesitant, Evangeline reciprocated. She heard Jack groan into the kiss, but she didn't let that stop her. She felt his tongue lick her bottom lip, as if asking for entrance. She parted her lips slightly, allowing him to deepen the kiss.

Jack didn't hesitate. He gently grabbed a hold of her arms and pushed her up against the mast as he deepened the kiss. Evangeline felt his tongue roam her mouth and explore, licking at ever inch. She became bold and tried to fight for dominance, but it was in vain. Even after their first kiss together, she didn't really know what she was doing, considering that Sean Flavisham never kissed her as passionately as Jack was now.

Evangeline pulled away from him, fighting for breath. That didn't stop him, as he kissed down her jaw and then to her pulse spot. This caused her breathing to pick up, and sent chills of pleasure down her spine. A whimper escaped from her lips as he nibbled at her neck, licking and sucking at it.

"Jack…" she whispered.

Jack groaned at hearing the way she said his name. He kissed her pulse spot harder, causing her to let out a quiet moan.

"Evangeline…" he whispered against her skin.

The way he said her name, full of desire, caused her already weak knees to weaken even more. But for some reason, she had opened her eyes, despite not wanting to.

Evangeline began mentally kicking herself for allowing the action, and tensed.

"Jack."

The captain felt her tense up. He pulled away so that he could look into her now wide eyes. "What's the matter, love?"

"Jack, look," she said, pointing out towards the horizon behind them.

Jack turned to see what had alarmed her. Just a dot on the horizon, but still noticeable, was a ship with white sails, heading in their direction. He pulled out his spyglass, peering into it to get a closer look at the ship. As he looked at the ship, he noticed its form, recognizing some of its details. After a minute, he was able to get a good look at the ship's colors. A British Royal Navy flag. His eyes widened, remembering the ship all too well.

It was the _HMS Dauntless_. Commodore Norrington had caught up to them.

"Bugger."

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A/N: Ah, Norrington. You ruin the loveliest of moments, don't you? Maybe it was you who had bumped into Evangeline in the previous chapter (_It wasn't, but I figured that I would put that out there. I know you're curious :3_). I hope you enjoyed the chapter, especially that little bit at the end. Yay to a JackxEvangeline moment!

So, let me know what you thought. I'm curious to know what you thought, what I should improve on, what I need to fix, etc. I love reading what you guys have to say, because half the time you guys say some pretty interesting things. And they make me very, VERY happy.

Like "XantheXV's Fanfiction" on Facebook, and join me for updates, pictures, and all sorts of randomness!

~Xanthe :3


	13. Escape from Tripoli

Author's Note: *nervously* Hey...h-how's it going guys? G-good I hope. So...obviously I haven't died. I just haven't been in much of a Jack mood lately, and I have slowly been getting it back. That last chapter of _Beckett's Hell_ helped a little bit, I believe. Which, if you haven't checked that out yet...you definitely should.

Thank you to those of you have taken the time to read, favorite, and what not. Huge thank you to **ZabuzasGirl, lilmissmessy, linalove, Guest, Gothic Unicorn, dionne dance, Eponine Sparrow, **and **Guest.** Hugs and kisses to you awesome people! I love ya!

Head's up! This is a pretty short chapter, for which I apologize immensely.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Pirates of the Caribbean. Never have...never will. Still trying to reason with Mickey to let me borrow Captain Sparrow for a week...maybe.

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen: Escape from Tripoli**

"Jack?"

Jack looked to Evangeline, her brow knotted in worry.

"Get Gibbs and gather the crew," he said. "Tell him we need to leave. Now."

Evangeline didn't argue about it. She merely nodded and then gracefully and quickly made her way down the ratlines to the main deck. She found Gibbs easily at the top of the gangplank.

"Gibbs!" she exclaimed. "We need to gather the crew. Now!"

Gibbs looked at the girl, perplexed. "Why?"

Evangeline pointed away from the harbor. "That's why."

The first mate turned to see where the girl was pointing, and became alarmed when he saw the _Dauntless_ slowly making its way towards the harbor. His eyes widened.

"How did they catch up to us?" Gibbs wondered out loud.

"I don't know," she said. "But I'm sure that the captain isn't pleased. I'm sure his pride has been injured."

"Then we best get the crew together."

Evangeline nodded in agreement.

Fortunately, gathering the crew was easy, as they hadn't wondered too far from the _Pearl_. Upon hearing orders from Gibbs to head back to the ship, they did so without delay. Within twenty minutes, the ship was ready and already sailing out of port. The tricky part now was sailing as far away from the naval ship as possible.

Once she was done tying up the rigging, Evangeline joined Jack at the helm.

"What now, Jack?" she asked.

"We sail for Turkey," he said, not taking his eyes away from the horizon. "If we can, we'll make port after my business is done and we'll get the rest of the supplies we need. It's best that we travel as light as we are now."

Evangeline was confused. "Why?"

"News is that there's a storm coming this way. If we can make it through it, that'll buy us some time to get away from bloody Norrington."

She nodded. "I see."

Jack looked to her out of the corner of his eye. "Now," he said. "Help the crew to make sure the cannons are loaded and ready in case we have to fight the Navy, eh?"

"Aye, Captain," was her response.

She didn't hesitate for one second. As soon as the words were gone from his lips, Evangeline hurried down the steps and let Gibbs know what was going on and the captain's orders.

Jack noticed the speed at which she did so. He couldn't help but smile.

_She's full of determination,_ he thought. _I'll give her that._

_**Or…maybe there's somethin' else, Jackie,**_ his inner voice told him.

_What else could there be?_

_**Maybe she thinks that if she can't prove herself to you, you'll send her to the asylum.**_

Jack shook his head at that thought. _There's no bloody way I'm sendin' her back to that place._

_**Is there?**_

_No._

Before his inner voice could argue with him on the matter, Jack focused on the task at hand. The _Pearl_ was making good time, the crew aiding in putting some distance between them and the _Dauntless_. He turned the wheel more to the right, aiming the ship for the northwest. Towards his destination.

Towards Turkey.

An hour later, they made it far enough away from the harbor that if a battle ensued, the port city of Tripoli wouldn't be caught in the cross fire. Jack looked off the port side rail and noticed the naval ship getting closer. He knew that if he could get the _Pearl _pointed more westward, they would be with the wind and could get away quicker.

As she was helping Marty set up the cannons, Evangeline looked up towards the helm. She noticed how concentrated Jack was when it came to steering the ship. She just hoped it would be enough to outrun the Navy.

_I shouldn't doubt him at all, _Evangeline thought. _This is the fastest ship ever. If she could out run the _Interceptor_, then she can out run the Navy._

She easily remembered the time they had to run from the _Pearl_ when it was under Barbossa's command. She remembered how quickly they had caught up with them. She shivered at the memory.

Evangeline cleared her head and focused on the task at hand. By now Gibbs had come up to her, helping her get a cannon set in place.

"I just don't understand how they caught up with us," Evangeline stated. "I mean…I thought we had lost them back in Africa."

"Don't underestimate Norrington," Gibbs pointed out. "Like Jack, he knows the seas like the back of his hand."

"Right…I had forgotten Elizabeth had mentioned that you were in the Navy once."

"Aye, and a lot of good it did me."

"What do you mean?"

"I met Jack."

Evangeline thought about it for a moment and then nodded. "I see."

She turned from Gibbs to look off the port side of the ship. The _Dauntless _was growing smaller and smaller by the minute. This brought a smile to her face.

"They're falling behind!" she exclaimed.

"Aye," the older pirate agreed. He turned to Jack as if to tell him the good news, but he stopped all of a sudden. "Mary, mother of God."

Evangeline turned to see what was causing Gibbs some manner of distress. Off in the distance, dark rainclouds were heading towards them off the starboard side, the waves beginning to rise higher.

They were catching what was left of the hurricane.

Evangeline ran up to the helm. Once beside Jack, she said, "We should turn back."

The captain turned to face her. He became a bit delirious. "And why would we do that, Miss Turner?"

"If we continue, the sea could claim us, because of the hurricane," she said. "It's not safe!"

"Not to worry, love," he told her. "I've sailed through a hurricane before."

"Are you mad?"

"It's questionable. Now," Jack briefly paused, looking back out seaward. "I want you to go and stay in my cabin. Just wait out the storm."

"What? No, I want to help!"

"I understand, darlin', but I can't risk ye havin' another episode. Like last time."

Evangeline was about to say something to counter his argument, but she couldn't. He did have a point. _And I can't bear to relive those memories again, _she thought.

"Fine," she finally said. "As you wish, Captain."

She turned and hurried down the steps, making it to Jack's cabin just as the rain began to kick in. She quickly closed the door and then looked around the cabin. It was a mess.

_How does Jack live like this?_ she wondered. Evangeline thought about trying to clean it up, but knew that in this storm, it would be useless.

So, with nothing else to do, she sat on the bed with her head in her hands. Her eyes roamed around the cabin until they came to something interesting. On the far side of the cabin, she spotted a small bookshelf.

Evangeline perked up a bit. She had been in Jack's cabin several times before, but she had never noticed that shelf before. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she got up from the bed and walked over there. She looked at some of the covers, spotting titles she never thought that a pirate would dare read. From _Hamlet _to _Macbeth_, Evangeline couldn't help but wonder why Jack would need these books.

_Does he actually read all of these?_ she wondered.

Evangeline continued to peruse the shelf, spotting a few of her favorites, until she came across one she had never heard of.

_My Lyfe Amonge the Pyrates _by Captain J. Ward.

She was immediately intrigued. She grabbed the book and quickly walked back to the bed as much as she could considering that they were sailing in the middle of a storm. Evangeline climbed onto the bed and opened the book, and began reading.

An hour later, she had fallen asleep.

xxx

The stranger appeared in the cabin, hoping to find Jack and warn him of the events to come. He was sure he had forgotten, which wouldn't surprise him. But did _he_ really have to send him here?

He noticed the sleeping form on the bed in the dim candlelight. Carefully and quietly, he walked closer, prepared to wake the pirate captain if need be. He could be only resting his eyes.

But what he found stunned him beyond belief.

There, lying on the bunk, was not the captain as he believed, but a young girl with raven hair that reached halfway down her back. She was fast asleep.

The stranger walked closer. He could make out her light breathing by the light rise and fall of her chest. Her hair was covering up parts of her face, so he couldn't see who she was. Carefully, he bent over and grabbed a lock of her hair, taking care not to make a mess all over the bed. He didn't want to give himself away. As soon as he had a clear view, his eyes widened.

She was the spitting image of his wife.

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A/N: Bum, bum, BUM! That's the end of this chapter. Wonder who the stranger is...hmmm...Well, I know who he is and you don't. You'll find out next chapter, I promise.

_Beckett_: That is, if you ever do write another chapter.

_Me_: Shut up, Beckett. Nobody likes you, so go away! And take your short shorts with you! (I watched Hanna the other day, and well...Tom Hollander's character was wearing short shorts. They were more like tennis shorts for men...but still)

Well, that's it from me for now. Now I need to go finish the laundry and then head to bed. I'm warning you guys now that I'm probably not going to post another chapter for a week or two. My dad is home from Kuwait, so I'm going to be spending as much time with him as possible before he has to go back. He's home for two weeks and then it's back to Kuwait for six more months :(

Don't forget to join me on Facebook for more madness...uh...I mean, more updates! Yeah...

Oh...before I forget...I posted a sneak peak to a new story I'm working on. It's called _Distance_ and it will be a Public Enemies fic. I have it posted on my deviantART page, but there's a link to it on my profile page on this site. Hope you enjoy it!

~Xanthe :3


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